Boku no Hero Academia: Hiken no Deku (ON HIATUS)
by Cesar D. Sizun
Summary: Portgas D. Ace died when he shouldn't have. But his power, and his legacy, didn't. Midoriya Izuku, now equipped with awesome powers, and supported by friends, has the opportunity to clear his past, and uncover the mysteries that surround his Quirk. And perhaps... find peace. - Not a crossover! Cross-posted on Wattpad.
1. Author's note (Yay)

Heya. Yeah, I know. What a way to start my first Long term Story, huh? I don't like it either, but it has to be done...

I'm doing this to explain certain aspects regarding this story, to let everything in the clear from the beginning. Ok? Ok.

First; Character Personalities: there's going to be OOC. Mostly regarding Izuku and Bakugo. Why? Because Izuku is going to have a "Quirk", and a powerful one at that. He still is going to be skittish, but to a different level. And their relationship is going to be a 'brotherhood type'. If we are honest, there are few-to-none fics with a good Bakugo that doesn't involve a sick Deku, the alpha version Universe (Yamikumo), Yaoi, or fem!Verse. Even with the last two. Don't ask. And I'm planning to give Izuku a more "Shounen Protagonist" attitude. More carefree, an inhuman appetite, things like that.

Second; Power: I will give Deku One for All. And before you say, "But he already has a broken ability with the Mera Mera no Mi! (Flame Flame fruit)". Just wait, *grins mischievously(?)* I have plans. GREAT plans. And if you think that the Devil Fruit was everything from the One Piece Universe, power wise, *grins widens dangerously, you ain't seen nothing yet.

Third; length: I have plans as far as Bakugo's Redemption Fight. So... spoilers, I guess? At least for Anime Exclusives... and if I reach the manga's current arc... I... I don't actually know. Probably take a little break, a hiatus; to let MHA progress a little further. Because I'm not good with original arcs.

Fourth; *sighs and braces himself for the incoming wave of complaints* Romance and Pairings: It's going to be an Izuku x Ochako fic. BUT WAIT! DON'T LEAVE!! Before you go, it's not gonna be a 'Oh-Izuku-trips-and-Ochako-saves-him-and-get-all-lovey-dovey'. Nope. 'Cause that ain't how a relationship works. It'll be more like a 'friendship with teasing on the side' than anything. I don't dislike other shippings for Deku, in fact I found them quite interesting. But... not here. And don't ask for a harem. My respects to said authors, but... nope. I despise harem fics. What you can expect is teasing from other girls, like Mei, or Ashido, due to their personalities. I even have plans for a certain sky-haired girl... Oops. Spoilers. *Shrugs nonchalantly with a teasing smirk.* So, yeah. And there are going to be other pairings. Probably the classic ones, because those are the ones that I feel more comfortable with. Also, don't expect neither Yaoi nor Lemmons, ok? I'm uncomfortable just reading them... imagine if I had to WRITE one...

And finally; Posting Schedule: I don't have one. I'll just post when I have the chapters ready.

What else... What else... ah! The Cover. I'm actually waiting for a personalized cover that I requested a while ago. When it comes, I'll give the cover it's own chapter. Trust me, it'll be worth it.

There's going to be references to other animes, trivia regarding the story, some Pop quizzes, and probably Omakes just for fun if certain requirements are accomplished. So, that's it. I guess. I guess I'll see you in the Prologue!


	2. Prologue: Bittersweet Anomaly

Disclaimer: I don't own Boku no Hero Academia nor One Piece. They belong to their respective owners. What I do own it's the plot of this story. That counts for something, right? RIGHT!?

~CDS~

"ACEEEEE! WE'RE HERE TO SAVE YOUUUUUU" Those were the spoken words that started everything. Hiken no Ace was going to be ok.

Mugiwara no Luffy and his 'Rescue Squad' were progressing well. After battling countless soldiers, stopping Ace's execution by sheer willpower, facing Mihawk, the Three Admirals together, and punching Garp out of the way, he was there. Ace was fine.

But... something went wrong. Ivankov's 'Miracle Treatment' begun to fail, before the expected; Akainu's insults towards Whitebeard weren't supposed to be heard, amongst the sound of battle, but they were. Luffy tried to stop his brother from fighting, but his body didn't respond. And before you knew, Akainu's magma fist was heading for the rubber teen.

CRACK!

This wasn't supposed to go like this... they should be gone by now... Ace was now running towards his brother... No...

CRACK!

Reality was starting to tear apart... Ace put himself in front of the attack... No... stop...

CRACK!

Sakazuki's fist pierced through Ace's chest.

CRASH!!

Unbeknownst to everyone, a hole in the continuity was made. While Ace was somewhat still alive, his DF ability had already left him. It traveled through the battlefield, towards the nearest fruit available. And before It begun to possess the fruit... It split Itself. The majority of It stood here, where it belongs, waiting patiently for their next user. But a small part of It, perhaps against It's own will, perhaps on purpose, went through the Crack.

No one, not even It, knew what would happen.

It was expecting to end in the hands of some extremely powerful individual, far away from the world that had already bored them.

It had no idea.

Today was Midoriya Izuku's sixth birthday. It's been two years since the poor kid had been diagnosed as quirkless. Two years of torment, of bullying, of being Deku. Most of the time, Izuku was fine, due to him being a positive child. But birthdays... they were a whole other story. Usually spent with his mother, the past two birthdays were, hard. Not having any friends in such a special day, was depressing.

So his mother, sweet Inko Midoriya, had decided to make this one super special. She would take her son out for dinner, giving him a big surprise. So, after school ended, she picked him up and headed back to their apartment.

Once there, she spoke, "Izuku?". The little kid turned around, "Yes, mom?", he answered, tilting his head to the right. His eyes were sad, she noticed. 'Probably problems in school again', she thought. "Listen, Izuku. I have a surprise for you!". The child's eyes sparked. "Tonight we will go to that Family restaurant that serves your favorite meal!" At this, Izuku jumped in joy. "Yeah! Special Katsudon! Woohoo!". If just for a moment, his smile was back at full force.

Once the dinner was completed, it was time for dessert. "Fruit salad! Fruit salad!", was everything Izuku repeated. It was a Birthday Special, with ice cream on top and had an All Might theme. Inko chuckled, " A BS Fruit salad, please." But then, she looked at the price. Wide eyed, she asked, whispering so her son couldn't hear, "May I know why it's so expensive?" The waiter answered, "No problem, miss. It's because the salad is prepared with extremely fresh fruit, chopped in the moment. Besides, it's a Family sized Cup. Need to cover the expenses, you know?". With that said, she nodded and proceeded to wait for the dessert.

"A BS Fruit salad!" Was heard in the kitchen, and everyone stopped what they were doing to start working on the massive dessert. So occupied they were, they didn't noticed that one of the fruits being peeled, a banana, to be specific, had changed it's skin. It had swirls all over, that resembled flames... though, in a world with Quirks that could let anyone change the appearance of anything, such a thing would go unnoticed.

When it arrived, Izuku attacked the ice cream on top. His mother just began eating at a much normal pace. Her son's appetite was something that always stood up. How could he eat so much, was beyond everyone's guess. In less than ten minutes, most of the ice cream was gone, and little Midoriya had started to "eat" the fruit. Each spoon was, at least for him, delicious, until... "Yuck!!" Izuku screamed, after swallowing one particular bitter portion. "Gross! Mooom, the fruit tastes yucky!", he complained. Inko, curious, attempted to try some.

Key word: attempted.

The moment the fruit salad reached her mouth, she spit it out. 'So gross!' She thought. After complaining with the staff, allowing them to prove that the salad wasn't good, and receiving an apology and a refund, to her delight, Inko and her son went home. Just another birthday, right?

The first sign appeared the next day. It was sutil, Izuku no longer felt affected by temperature. He still had to cover himself from the particular hot sun, but the unusual high temperature didn't bother him. He didn't felt different, so he just shrugged it off.

Months passed, winter came. And the funny thing was, where Izuku lived, didn't snowed. Once again, nothing new. One day, while making a snow man in a nearby park, Izuku's "friend", Katsuki Bakugo, decided that it was a good idea to startle the useless Deku. So, slowly, he and his goons approached Izuku from behind and...

KA-BOOM!!

Katsuki let loose the biggest explosion he could muster, to scare the little sh*t. What they didn't expected, was to Izuku to burst.

Literally.

Screaming his lungs out, Midoriya burst into flames, scaring himself, who began to roll trying to put out the fire, and Kacchan, who was still processing what had happened. When he realized what was going on, tried to stop the greenette.

"Deku! DEKU! Calm down DEKU!!" Katsuki tried to slap him into sense, only for his hand to phase trough Izuku's cheek, effectively stopping the kid. 'Not what I was planning, but worked anyways'. When Izuku got up, still in flames, that didn't burn his clothes for some reason, Katsuki looked at him, with a shit-eating grin and said, "Deku, do you not realize what this means!?" while shaking him by the shoulders. 'Now I can touch him? Weird...'

Realization dawned on Izuku, who, teary eyed, and still on fire, went running to his mother, followed by his friend. "Mom! Mommy!! Look!!" When Inko turned around, she almost freaked out to the sight of his son burning, but then she saw the huge smile his son was portraying, and couldn't stop the tears leaking from the corner of her eyes.

"Mom!!! I have a Quirk!!

For the next hour, Izuku Midoriya received nothing but praises for finally developing a Quirk, and a little 'I'm sorry' from Kacchan. But in the deepest part of his mind, he couldn't stop feeling guilty. Why?

Because he felt that his power, for some reason, wasn't his. Because he knew, that a big price had been paid, for him to have his Quirk.

~CDS~

Aaaaand cut! So here's the Prologue!

A little game: whoever that finds out the reasons behind the title's chosen name, gets a shootout next chapter! A little help: there's two reasons...

Apologies for any grammar mistakes. English is not my first language.

Read ya.


	3. A slimy situation, an Almighty encounter

**_Well hello! And welcome to the First Official chapter of Hiken no Deku! I cannot believe the amount of support the story is getting! I know it sounds cheesy, but it's the truth! I mean, with just the Prologue had enough follows and favs to bring me to the verge of tears, man!_** ** _Well... a promise is a promise. Shootout to Greeninja(guest)! Who figured out the meaning behind the title's name. The anomaly was... well, pretty obvious, I guess... But he realized that the 'bittersweet' was a reference to how Izuku gained his powers._**

 ** _And to Power tour: It's good to see that someone has a mindset similar to mine. You realized the 'Quirk's' drawback! And believe me when I say that I WANT to make longer chapters. I mean, when I write them, they look HUGE! But then... I realize that it's just a mere thousand words... But, then again, that was just the Prologue. Hopefully, they'll be longer now._**

 ** _I have no words to say how sorry I am for taking this long to update. A month. A FREAKING MONTH. I could blame it on Writer's block (yes, this early, sue me it's hard to write), but it would only be a part of the problem. So, I'll be honest._**

 ** _Procrastination._**

 ** _Despite having the chance, I wouldn't write. Let it be work, another author's stories, or the fact that I wasn't satisfied with this story. I just can't put into words what I'm thinking, and that holds me back from writing. Hence, this shitty chapter. I just hope it doesn't disappoint you more than I expect._**

~CDS~

"You're all third years now. So, taking that into account, you should start considering your future careers." It was just another day in Orudera Junior High. Your typical school, with your typical students. This teacher was talking to his class. "Here in my hand, I have your career assessment test. But..." At this, almost every student began showing abilities that wouldn't be considered 'normal'. "I know everyone here wants to take the Hero Course!", the teacher shouted, throwing everything at the air.

Cue uproar. Ah. Did I forget to tell you? This ain't your typical world. Several generations ago, people began to, in a sense, mutate. After a baby began to glow in China, powers started to become the norm in the planet. This abilities were labeled "Quirks". 80% of the population in the planet have the chance to develop one, and have a justified place in soc-

"Hey teach!" A cocky voice interrupted the explanation, gaining the attention of everyone in the process. "Don't lump every egg in the same basket! I'm nothing like this extras!" The owner of the voice, who was extremely relaxed, with his feet in his desk, looking at the ceiling, decided to look down, showing some pointy ash blond hair, and piercing red eyes. This was Katsuki Bakugo.

While everyone was distracted yelling at the blonde, and subsequently marveled at the fact that he was planning to go to U.A., the most prestigious Hero Academy, there was someone that _wasn't_ involved in all this. He was very busy scribbling notes _furiously_ , a faraway look in his eyes. And despite what it seems, Izuku Midoriya was actually paying attention to his surroundings. That it wasn't important to him, that was another story.

So, when he heard that his friend started rambling about how only he had the ability to enter to U.A, bla bla bla, he rolled his eyes. _'This again'_ , he thought. ' _Might as well cut it before he earns himself even **more** enemies_'. So, without looking up from his notes, he raised his left hand, and his arm turned into fire. With his arm transformed, he stretched it, reaching towards Bakugo, and...

 ** _PAF!_**

He slapped him in the back of his head, _hard_ , cutting his rant. All the while, still writing his notes. All the witnesses had to hold their giggles, some failing and laughing at the scene. Katsuki was still. He hadn't move at all, if you didn't counted all the _twitching_. His eyes, nonetheless, screamed **bloody** **murder**.

"What the hell, shitnerd!" He shouted at last, blowing Izuku's desk. Luckily, he was used to this, so he just raised his notebook, avoiding all possible damage.

"You were rambling again, Kacchan" Izuku responded, still writing. "It was getting old, actually. I had to stop you before you ended up insulting someone."

"Like you're the one to talk! All your mumbling is also annoying! What the hell!" At this point, Katsuki was literally fuming, smoke raising from the palm of his hands.

"Ah, Midoriya. You also wanted to go to U.A, right?"

 _Silence_.

" _So the rumors were true after all, he's planning on attending there too..._ "

" _With that power of his? Of course! I'd be surprised if he didn't try!_ "

" _Man, he'll become an awesome hero someday... I mean, he's head to head with Katsuki, right?_ "

Mumble, mumble, mumble. There they go again. Now this got some sort of reaction from Izuku, but it wasn't a good one. His bangs covered his eyes, stopping everyone from looking how he was feeling. Bakugo, now more calmed -as much as he could be, anyway- noticed his friend's state, and decided that it was enough. A couple of shouts, some explosions and a glare later, everything was back to normal. But it was already late. The mood was settled.

' _So much for a good day.'_ Izuku thought.

 **xOx**

The day was over, and almost everyone was heading home. Izuku was preparing himself, he just had to finish putting some books in his backpack, and he could relax in his nice, cozy home...

"Midoriya!"

Or not. There she was, again. He turned to greet his classmate, a young girl, with brown, regular hair. There was nothing outstanding you could see, just your average schoolgirl.

Her quirk? Fire hand. Quite self-explanatory, right?

"Midoriya, are you free today? My parents aren't home..." _'Yeah, I'm free. Got nothing to do.'_ "Sorry, I have plans. Now, can you please, stop _cornering_ me?" Izuku was a little unnerved. This girl had been stalking him for a couple months now.

"Aw, c'mon! You can't dodge me forever! You know that we match!"

"That's where you're wrong! Just because we have similar quirks, it doesn't mean we could match! I-It doesn't wo-work that way!" He tried to sound brave, but he was starting to loose his cool. The nervousness was overwhelming. She was getting close, _so close_...

 _"Hinote."_

The girl, now named Hinote, stiffened. Slowly, she turned around, and she saw Bakugo, standing there, nonchalantly. He looked calm. _Way too calm_. She swallowed hard, apologized to Midoriya, and proceeded to _run for her life_. The explosive blonde just raised an eyebrow, and chuckled, approaching his green haired friend, who was releasing some breath that didn't knew he was holding.

"Honestly, Deku, this is ridiculous. I have to help you to get rid of a _girl_ , of all things."

"Sorry Kacchan. But you know how she is, she just won't step back. All because her parents told her about that whole ' _quirk marriage_ ' thing. She's obsessed!"

Now you might be wondering, "Why Deku? Didn't it mean 'useless'?" Well, let me explain. While Deku might mean useless, it no longer holds the venom, the heaviness of the insult. It's just that; Deku. It's who he is. After so many years, it became their way of knowing when something was ok or not. They are 'Kacchan and Deku.'

While the author was explaining all this, the childhood friends were already outside of school, walking next to a pool. Midoriya was rummaging through his stuff, and suddenly stopped, muttering a low _'crap'._

"Sorry, Kacchan, but you'll have to go on. I forgot my Hero Journal in the classroom!"

Katsuki knew, that something wasn't right. He could feel it. But, he also knew when his friend needed some alone time. "Ok, nerd. If you need me, I'll be at the arcades." And with that, Bakugo was out. Izuku then looked up, and calculated which window was his classroom. Once located, he made sure that nobody was around, and when he assured himself that the coast was clear, he turned his legs into fire, and _thrusted himself_ towards the window. Now that he had his Journal back, he jumped from the same window that he went through, stopping his fall with his quirk once again. And just like that, he decided to head home.

 **xOx**

After a short while, Izuku founded himself walking through a tunnel. _'What a day'_ , he thought. _'Right now, I just wanna go home.'_

Halfway through the tunnel, he heard a really creepy voice behind him. "Well, well! A medium sized cloak! This is just my day!" Izuku then turned around, and saw what appeared to be conscious sewage water. _'A... a villain?'_ was all that Izuku managed to think while backing away, and when he tried to run, the creature surrounded the green haired kid, and proceeded to take control of his body, in a... well... R-Rated way.

 _'C-Crap! Why did it have to be water? I don't even have enough energy to activate my Quirk...'_ Izuku was desperate. His mind was going blank...

 ** _CLANK!_**

Out of the sewer from where the villain came from, a bulky figure came out. Surprised, the creature turned around, and his eyes widened.

 ** _"Don't worry, young man. Why?"_** Then, the person, stepped out of the sewer with enough force to create a small shockwave. Once he stood fully, he raised his face, showing a confident smile.

 ** _"Because I AM HERE."_**

The sewage villain tried to attack the person _-a hero, Izuku's remaining conscience assured him-_ only for him to dodge the attack easily. **_"Villain!!"_** The hero screamed.

 ** _"Texas SMAAAAASH!"_**

With a powerful punch, the Hero created a strong wind pressure, strong enough to blast the villain to little, smelly bits, releasing his young hostage.

Now free, Izuku was supposedly capable of moving again, but the precious O2 had been out of his system for far too long. All that he managed to catch was the form of a person in a punching stance, one that he knew very well.

 _'A... All...'_

His mind was blacking...

 _'All... Mig-'_

Night night.

 **xOx**

Izuku woke up to a sting in his cheek. His mind was still trying to process what had happened earlier. And once his vision returned to him, he was greeted with an, _unusual_ , sight.

 ** _"Ah. So good that you're awake!"_**

Shock.

That was all that you could've have seen in Izuku's face, had you been witnessing the exchange. And how not? If All Might, _All Might_!, was standing right in front of him! The Number One Hero! And speaking of the bulking man, he had been talking something about the villain fight he had, and was now posing with the aforementioned inside a bottle? Huh, so it seems.

 _'His signature!! Where!'_ Desperately, the freckled boy began to look for his notebook, hoping to get a signature from the Symbol of Peace. When he found it, he quickly turned the pages, looking for a blank page to use, and to his surprise, _'HE ALREADY SIGNED IT!!'_ , there was a full, two paged signature with his symbol on the top right corner.

"THANK YOU! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'LL CHERISH IT, IT'LL BECOME A FAMILY TREASURE!!" Izuku said, as he bowed with so much energy, that would make a Heavy Metal fan proud. All Might responded with a simple but cool _'OK'._

"Now, young man, I'll be taking my leave. Don't get into trouble, alright? I need to take this guy", All Might said while patting the bottle in his pocket, "to the authorities", and he turned to leave. While he stretched his muscles, Izuku asked why he had to go so soon, and The Hero told him about the Pro Heroes life. Izuku wasn't satisfied with this. _'I can finally get some answers, and my chance goes away so quick?'_ He thought while looking at his role model. "Well," All Might said, "see you..." and he jumped, "ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE SCREEN!".

Midoriya was still standing there, looking at the dot that was All Might. _'No'_ The dot was getting smaller. _'NO!'_ Even smaller. _'I NEED TO KNOW!!'_

 ** _FWOOOOSH!_**

"Uh?" All Might said, as he felt a tug on his leg. When he looked, he saw the little man that he just saved, latched onto him like a koala. "OIOIOIOIOI!! This is too much fanaticism! Let go!"

"I would," Izuku answered, wobbling because the wind, "but I could get into trouble! We're above a city, and I've already been scolded for illegal quirk use!"

"Ah, you're making a good point."

One forced rooftop landing later, Izuku founded himself trying to catch his breath. "So... scary..." It's not that he wasn't used to "flying", no, with his quirk, he could do it freely, it's just that he wasn't used to fly _so high._

"The people down there should help you getting down."

After hearing this, Midoriya putted himself back together, and saw All Might leaving.

"No, wait! I still need answers!"

"Sorry kid, but no. My schedule is VERY tight. I can't afford to stay."

 _'No, please, hear me...'_ impotence was all Izuku could feel right now. _'You're the only one that can help me.'_ All Might's figure was approaching the rooftop's ledge. _'How... How...'_

"How..." Izuku said, so emotional was, that even if he didn't stop, All Might did turned his head to look at the kid, who then screamed:

" ** _HOW DO YOU MANAGE TO FULFILL EVERYONE'S EXPECTATIONS!?"_**

At this, All Might fully stopped, shocked. _'What?'_ Unfortunately, right then, something happened to his body, but his companion was very busy rambling to notice.

"I... I was a late bloomer, All Might." Izuku began, unaware of the Hero's current predicament. "My Quirk didn't manifested until a couple of years past the usual age. But when it did, everything changed. Praises was all I heard, because of the power I have. But... I... I'm scared, you know? Everyone I've met, they told me that I would make a great hero someday. And it's not that I dislike the motivation... but, I cannot shake away this feeling... most of the time, I ask myself: _'Everybody has their hopes on me. But what if I fail? What if I end up disappointing everyone?'_ So, tell me, All Might, how do... you...?"

Izuku's question was left hanging there, as to who he was talking to, had been suddenly replaced with what could only be labeled as a skinned _skeleton_ , surrounded by steam.

"Whaa... Whaa..." Apparently knowing what was about to happen, SkeleMight covered his ears.

 ** _"WHAAAAAAAAAAAAT!?"_**

Izuku was baffled, to say the least. "All... All Might? Where is he? An... an imposter?"

"Do you know those guys that flex their muscles at the pools? It's like that." Was the skinny man's answer. Negation? Small word to describe Midoriya's reaction. And then All Might proceeded to tell Izuku about his battle with Toxic Chainsaw, his injury, and his reduced Hero time. "Listen, kid. What you were saying earlier, about expectations? Let me tell you something. Being a Hero, it's not easy. Every single one of us, are always facing danger, and most importantly, _the people_. Everyone looks up to us, knowing that we'll be there to help. I noticed that you lack something that it's basic for Pro Heroes: _self-confidence_. And that, it's the secret to fulfill the expectations. That's what I do. I overcome my fear, no matter how big, because I'm confident that I will succeed in what I'll do. So, I'm sorry to disagree with all those people you've talked to me about, because, with your current mind track, _you can't be a Hero._ "

Poor Izuku, his heart was shattered. He came all the way here for advice, and in exchange, reality hit him like a speeding train. All Might had already left the building, saying that he should look for another job, leaving the greenete alone with his thoughts. A distant explosion took him out of his head, and instantly began to run towards the exit,

 _'You can't be a Hero.'_

Only to stop dead in his track. _'Who am I kidding? I might as well just drop it.'_ With that though, he left the place, at a slower pace, and even more depressed.

 _'Once again, so much for a good day.'_

 **xOx**

Toshinori Yagi was not having a good day.

He was currently running as fast as he could towards Tatooine **_(A/N: is that how it's spelled?)_** district, where he could guess, was the villain that he _oh so foolishly_ let escape. He already had crushed the hopes of a little guy, who also came to know his true form, and that had cemented his humour. He felt bad for what he did, but he knew it was for the best.

 _'Here it is. But, I'm already beyond my limits.'_ He thought. _'There's nothing I can do now... I'm... I'm... pathetic...'_

Unknown to the skinny hero, just a couple people away, was the very same kid he had saved before, also in a self-blaming session.

 _'It's all my fault... if I hadn't grabbed All Might's leg, Kacchan wouldn't be in this situation!'_

 ** _Th-thump!_** His heart began thumping.

 _'Pathetic...'_

 _'I'm sorry...'_

 ** _Th-thump!_**

Izuku raised his head, attempting to take a look at his friend, trapped in the clutches of the sludge villain.

 ** _Th-thump!_**

He locked eyes with Bakugo, and saw an emotion that he considered _impossible_ in the blonde's eyes.

 ** _Th-thump!_**

 _Despair. "Help me!!"_

 **xOx**

 ** _FWOOOOSH!_**

Yagi, along with every other witness in the scene, got surprised when a fire stream got blasted from amongst the crowd. What was more surprising though, was the fire taking form, who was surprisingly familiar...

 _'Wait... KID!?'_ His eyes were wide as saucers. Just what was that kid doing!?

 **xOx**

 _'How did I ended here...? Ah, right; Kacchan.'_

Izuku was flying towards the villain, a fist cocked, ready to strike.

"LET KACCHAN GO!!!!"

 ** _THWACK!_**

The punch hit the villain straight in the eye, knocking him back, and releasing Bakugo in the process, who coughed trying to recover air. "D-Deku?" Izuku had fallen in front of him, and had now his arms spread, as if it were a shield of some sort. "Oi, Deku! What are you doing!?"

"I... I don't know." What he said next, made Yagi more surprised that he had been in a long time. "All I know it's that you needed help, and then..."

 ** _"Then my body moved on it's own!"_**

He said this smiling widely, and suddenly his face turned into a determined one. "And now..." Then his fingers turned into fire, and _branched_. The fire wires connected with every fire focus, and then, Izuku _pulled_. Effectively, all the fire responded, and fused with the freckled boy.

He putted out the fire in a matter of seconds.

Now with everyone safe, was payback time. Izuku glared at the villain, and cocked his fist, who began to change. "Listen, villain. You're not gonna hurt anyone else, ever again!" Bakugo's eyes widened, knowing what was coming.

"Wait, don't! _IZUKU!!_ "

And then, Izuku punched.

 ** _"Hiken!"_**

A huge fire stream blasted from the punch, and if you looked closely, you'd realize that was in fact not a simple fire blast, but actually a _gigantic fire fist_. The sludge villain could only stare, paralyzed in fear, at the Advancing Wall of Heating Doom. Then, it connected.

When Izuku retreated the attack, the people were expecting to see nothing but the corpse of the villain, but, to everyone's surprise, it was only unconscious. _'He managed to hold back? He knows that the Hiken is a deadly technique! That's why we agreed that he would never use it! When did he acquire such self control?'_ Bakugo was astounded. He tried to stop Deku, knowing that that attack could have cost him more than a scolding... or not, apparently. They would have to talk later.

After the shock subsided, everyone cheered at the young hero, who was too high in adrenaline to care. And a few recklessness related scolding and Quirk praising later, both kids were on their merry way.

 **xOx**

"Why did you do it?"

"Huh?"

Bakugo had stopped. He was looking at the ground, deep in thought. "You heard me. Why? And before you say anything" he said raising his hand, effectively stopping the freckled boy, "I'm not mad that you helped me." Then he looked at his friend, and he looked _pissed_. "You knew that he was water. Water, Deku!! It was more dangerous to you that it was for me! And, you used that attack! I don't care if you held back! You promised that you'd never use it!" He then breathed, calming himself down, and continued at a calmer pace. "You're not someone that goes back on promises, buddy. So, I'll tell you something. I believe that you're finally breaking that self-imposed barrier of yours. That's why that guy is alive right now, when he should be nothing but steam. Right now, I'll go home. I reek. But, think about it, ok?"

And he was out.

 _'Kacchan...'_ His friend was right! He still has a chance to-

 ** _"Young Midoriya"_**

"Whaaaa!!"

All Might had came out of nowhere. He tried to impress the little guy by flexing, but it ended up scaring him further when he returned to his SkeleMight form.

"Young man, I'm here to apologize, rectify, and suggest. Back there, in the attack, I was part of the crowd." Izuku was surprised. "I was paralyzed, incapable of doing anything. And then, you came, and threw away any thoughts I had about you. Because out of everyone there, the non-confident kid, was the only one to jump in action." At every word, Izuku's eyes began to shine with tears. "Let me tell you something. Every Pro Hero has a story from their school days. When there was trouble, _their bodies moved on their own, before they could even think._ "

Izuku fell to his knees, crying.

"That was real for you, right?"

Izuku nodded.

At this, a gentle smile appearedd in the Pro's lips. "I knew. So, young Midoriya, let me clarify my mistake."

 ** _"You can be a Hero."_**

 **xOx**

 ** _Aaaand done! Sweet mercy, that was cringy... welp, it's my fault. I hope it wasn't SO bad..._**

 ** _As you guys can see, I tried to approach Deku's troubles from a different perspective. So, instead of Quirklessness, I gave him a severe case of Lack of Confidence (he's gonna get along so well with Amajiki...). Honestly, I can see him being that kind of guy... and besides, I couldn't leave out the Rooftop Talk. It was a necessary scene._**

 ** _Anyway, the next chapter! A hellish training and the Entrance Exam! That's when the good stuff comes._**

 ** _I promise that the next chapter will take less time to come. Please spare me!_**

 ** _Read ya._**


	4. Burning Passion! The Entrance Exam

**_Hey. Sorry for the delay. A lot of things, bad things happened. I was forced to leave my work, and my family almost has to leave our house. And even more shit._**

 ** _I had this made almost four months ago, but, after everything, I lost the progress, and it had to be remade._**

 ** _SophiaAlyssaLuceroMa, thanks for the Cover, and sorry for being so late to show my appreciation._**

 ** _I want to clarify that I had this planned before Endeavour showed how he fights._**

 ** _Alright! No more dilation! Let's get going!_**

~CDS~

Legends are born at the most common of days. And they don't know that they'll become one! They don't wake up one day saying _"What a wonderful day! Today I'll become a legend who'll be remembered for ages!"_. It's fate who plays it's cards to create the opportunities for these people.

Today had been one of those days. An average day for everyone. That's why Midoriya was still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was now All Might's _unofficial successor_. He was now in his bed, at night, recalling the events that had taken place earlier that day. Trying to figure when fate had given him some sort of signal to what would happen to him eventually. Shaking his head, he put those thoughts aside, focusing on the talk he had that afternoon with the Pro Hero, about his mysterious and powerful Quirk, One for All. While he had told him about the mechanism of said power, and also said that he would inherit it (something that he still couldn't fully understand), All Might had told him that he had to meet him tomorrow morning at Dagoba Municipal Beach, mentioning something about _shaping up_.

 _'I'll worry about that tomorrow.'_ He thought. _'Me overthinking it won't help me to relax.'_

And with that, he closed his eyes and finally fell asleep.

 **xOx**

Sunrise found Izuku at the _junkyard_ that was supposed to be the beach, dragging with some effort an extremely heavy refrigerator, with an even heavier All Might on top of it, who was taking him some pictures with this cellphone.

"All Might," Izuku said, while dragging what had to be _at least_ 10 times his own weight, "not that I mind the extra training, but, would you please explain me why am I doing this? I don't see how this relates in any way to how to inherit your Quirk."

"Well, Young Midoriya, this is completely necessary, you know," the older of the two said as he came down from where he was. "As you now know, my Quirk, One for All, it's a _power stockpile_ , so, in order to acquire it, the vessel must be an appropriate one. Right now, you're not a good vessel," he said, pointing at the younger's body, "so we need to train that lanky body of yours, or else, your limbs would most likely explode."

At this explanation, Izuku raised an eyebrow, confused. "Lanky...?" He wondered what the Pro meant, so he looked down at his body, but saw nothing bad with it, just his clothes..."Oh.." His eyes widened when he realized what the older one meant, and that elicited a chuckle from Midoriya, much to the other's confusion.

"So that's what you meant... hehe, I understand your confusion, All Might. You see, I'm not lanky; it's my clothing." He was wearing a loose pair of jogging pants, a long sleeved t-shirt, and his trademark red sneakers. "I found fitting clothing too uncomfortable, you know? So I always wear," he said as he removed his shirt, "clothes that are a size bigger. They are more comfy."

All Might wasn't expecting this. The supposed lanky boy was, for a lack of better terms, _ripped_. He wasn't bulky, but compact. He had a very well developed _eight pack_ , and appeared to be in better shape than most pro's that he knew of. _'This kid, he's already an appropriate vessel!'_ All Might though. "Ok, boy, I'll admit that you have surprised me. Still, I would like you to clean this beach as some extra training, seeing that most heroes today forget about this small favors to society. Also, I'd like to measure your current strength level, and the time you take to clean here would be a nice stepping stone."

He then proceeded to crush the refrigerator he was on, creating a decently-sized shockwave. He then grabbed another piece of junk of similar characteristics and placed it next to where the previous was. "Come here, Midoriya. I want you," he said, "to attack this," he signaled the piece of thrash, "with all your power, but without your Quirk. It'll give me an estimate of your base strength."

At this, Izuku's face shone with excitement. "Ok, All Might!".

He stepped back a couple meters, and then he threw himself up in the air with his Quirk. Once he was high enough, he stretched his leg and started spinning while falling directly above the junk, delivering a powerful axe-kick.

 ** _"Concasse!!"_**

The attack was so powerful, that when it connected, it _crushed_ the furniture, leaving it in a similar state to the one All Might had so effortlessly crushed. The Pro Hero was astounded, both marveled and scared of the raw power display. _'Such strength, and at such a young age! Just what kind of childhood did this kid went through? That was at least 12% of OfA power gauge, and he replicated it so easily...'_ He shook himself out of his pondering, and clapped at the younger's demonstration. "Excellent, Young Midoriya, excellent! Now, we'll proceed to clean the rest of the place!"

And so, it began. What All Might had estimated would take the broccoli head to clean the beach, had been the exact time range until the Entrance Exam, ten months. So big was his surprise when, with a creative use of the younger's Quirk, it only took a little over three, and that included the fire kid's _unusual_ appetite, that made his stomach growl like a caged beast every couple hours. He was remembering a conversation they were having during one of those lunch breaks during the first month of training, regarding said quirk.

 _Flashback_

 _"So, Young Midoriya," All Might began to say, sitted against some trash, "what exactly is your Quirk? You never actually told me about it. All I know is that is fire related..."_

 _Midoriya, who was happily munching on some bone meat, his fourth one more precisely, only answered, "Ish cwalled- whait." He swallowed the food, and continued. "I call it 'Flame Being'. It allows me to create and control an almost infinite amount of fire, as well as giving me a semi-passive permeability, allowing me to become the element as long as I am conscious." He continued talking unaware of the older's gaping face. "It has a nasty drawback, though." He said, frowning. "In the moment my body gets in water, I'll become useless."_

 _"Really?" All Might wondered. "How's that?"_

 _"Well, it's weird, honestly. It's just that when I get into some water body, I lose all my energy, I'm incapable of moving, like a hammer. But rain and that kind of water is fine, though. That doesn't affect me." His frown then deepened. "It's annoying. It's up to today that I can't get into the bathtub without some risk of drowning..."_

 _The trash can that hitted All Might in the head for laughing at that?_

 _Totally worth it._

 _End Flashback_

By the second week of the fourth month, Dagoba Municipal Beach had been completely restored to it's previous glory, but it was closed to the public for the time being. The thing was, Toshinori had used his contacts in the force to temporarily enclose the place, because the next part of Midoriya's training was about to start, and it would require more privacy. There were they, standing in front of each other, about to begin the _sparring session_. Before he could get OfA, Yagi wanted to use the remaining time before the Exam to review and polish Midoriya's fighting abilities, as well as increasing his already high base power. All Might then put some distance between them, and got into his bulky form.

"Whenever you're ready, Young Midoriya. Come, and attack me."

So Midoriya got into his own fighting stance, and started running towards the One for All user at a very impressive speed.

 _'He's fast!'_

In under two seconds, Midoriya had covered the whole distance, and then he launched a left kick to the Hero's face, who stopped it, grabbing the younger's leg with his right hand. Gritting his teeth, Izuku then launched a right punch, who was also stopped. All Might had forbidden him to use his Quirk, and that also included his intangibility(?).

Izuku was there, holded up in the air as he where noting, while All Might was unfazed, at least in the outside. The Pro Hero then tossed Midoriya back to where he was, and in the moment he touched ground, the fire kid once again launched a right kick to the Hero's head, who instead of grabbing the attack, he just blocked it with his arm. While he looked ok, he was ranting in his head. _'Mggghh... that hurt!'_ It took all his willpower not to grab and sooth the pain in his throbbing arm. But the fight was far from over. Izuku continued the attack with a flurry of punches, none of the which connected, then he did a backflip, jumped, and ended with a _Concasse_ , that All Might stopped crossing his arms above his head.

They went on like that for a while longer, until All Might called it a day. Izuku was tired, but he never pushed back. For the next months, it became a routine to meet every morning to spar, building up Izuku's natural resistance, as well as throwing one or two special Quirk trainings once in a while. It was during this last ones that All Might could see the true power behind Flame Being.

 _Flashback_

 _One afternoon well within the seventh month, Toshinori had decided that he wanted to witness the ingenuity of his protegee regarding his Quirk, so he collected a mountain of trash that had been once again flowing into the beach._

 _He had disposed several pieces of trash with different sizes, and planned on using them in several different ways._

 _"Ok, Young Midoriya, here's how we'll do this: I will attack you with this trash, and I want you to use whatever technique you have with your Quirk to defend yourself, ok?"_

 _"Yes, All Might!"_

 _The training began with something relatively easy: an old, broken TV. All Might tossed the element at Midoriya, who just raised his hand and aimed his palm at the projectile._

 _ **"Kagero!!"**_

 _A fire stream shoot from the palm, hitting dead on the TV, obliterating it. But the onslaught didn't stop. Right behind the TV, several pieces of debris flew straight to the fire kid, who, while surprised, wasn't deterred, and swiftly countered the attack, putting his hands in a pistol form, adopting a cowboy stance._

 _ **"Higan!!"**_

 _From his fingertips, Izuku fired little fire bullet-like projectiles that destroyed the incoming debris. Just like before, a new attack came after, this time being two relatively large couches. And while prepared, Izuku was a little weirded out. 'Talk about unorthodox teaching methods.' While thinking this, he had already prepared his next counter, fire emanating from his hands._

 _ **"Shinka: Shiranui!!"**_

 _He launched a fire arrow from each hand, hitting one couch each, killing their momentum._

 _All Might was amazed. The kid had an excellent control over his actions, using only the necessary amount of force to retaliate. 'Time to kick it up a notch, then!!' With that, he launched his next projectile, that actually managed to surprise the soon-to-be-hero._

 _'FROM WHERE DID HE PULL OUT A TRUCK'S CARGO TRAILER OF ALL THINGS!? I DIDN'T SEE THAT AMONGST THE TRASH!!!' The thing was coming from above him, so he had to pull out one of his strongest attacks. **"Enkai!"** He shouted, waving his hand around him, surrounding himself in fire, much to the surprise of the One for All user. Izuku then putted his hands in the floor and shouted._

 _ **"HIBASHIRA!!"**_

 _Just like the name indicated, a huge fire pillar erupted from around Izuku's body, destroying the trailer as if it were nothing._

 _"I believe that's enough, Young Midoriya. I am truly surprised with how well you control your Quirk. Anyone else wouldn't have so much control over such a destructive force, yet I saw that you never used more power than the necessary!"_

 _While truly touched by the praise, Izuku could only flash a sad smile. "Thanks All Might, I appreciate it. I'll admit that it wasn't easy to polish my abilities to this point. There are... some unpleasant memories related to that..." The sadness was palpable._

 _What Izuku didn't expect was to receive a hug, of all things... he couldn't hold the tears anymore._

 _"It's ok, whatever happened, it's in the past." Yagi's tone was gentle. "When you think you're ready, you can tell me what happened. I won't force you. Just think about where you are now."_

 _Their bond definitely got stronger that day._

 _End Flashback_

 **xOx**

It was the day of the Entrance Exam. Toshinori, in his skeletal from, was approaching the beach first time in the morning. When he looked up, he encountered an unexpected sight.

Izuku Midoriya was there, his expression unreadable, staring at the sunrise. Apparently, he felt his mentor's presence, because he turned around, a small smile in his face. "Hey, All Might. Sorry I came here sooner than we agreed to. I needed to think, and this place was the only one that came to my head."

"I found it poetic, actually," he continued. "I can't help to relate to this place. A new beginning..."

 _'Young man, why are you like this now?'_ Just as he was about to voice his thoughts, Izuku returned to his usual happy-go-lucky self. _'Probably he's just nervous...'_ "Today's the day, Midoriya. Are you ready? It's finally time."

At this, Izuku _really_ perked up. "Yeah! I can't wait!"

"Ok, now. Izuku Midoriya." All Might began, bulking up. "Someone once told me that there's a difference between being lucky, and being deserving." He then raised his hand, "The first one is a coincidence, the second, a reward." And plucked a hair out of his head. "Are you ready, to receive my Quirk?"

Izuku was practically glowing. "Yes, All Might!"

 _"Eat this."_ He said, showing the fresh hair.

 _'Come again?'_ "Uhh... All Might..?" Izuku's face was pure comedy. Some elaboration was required, it read.

"Ah... You see, you need to ingest my DNA in order to absorb the power..."

 ** _'Sounds familiar...'_**

 _'Who said that!?'_ Midoriya though.

"Young Midoriya?"

"Huh? Ah, so-sorry!" The kid apologized, a little red from embarrassment. "I thought I heard something... Probably nothing." He then remembered what he had to do, an got a little green. _'Ah, well, I've eaten worse before...'_

"All Might, does it have to be like that?" At the oldest confused face, Izuku elaborated. "I mean, just the hair. Can't I put it in something? I've got a sandwich here..."

"I... believe it's the same, as long as you consume the DNA..."

That said, Izuku grabbed the hair, putted it in his pork sandwich and down it in _one go_. He didn't even chew!

"I... I don't feel any different..."

"Well, obviously! It should take a couple hours until your stomach digests the hair... even with your super digestive system! Anyway, there are a couple things that I need to clarify regarding One for All. First of all, to activate it, do as I say: clench your buttocks, and shout from the bottom of your heart: **_SMASH!_** " He ended that releasing a "small" punch, that covered Izuku from head to toe in sand. "Um... sorry about that. Second..." He now got serious. "Now, about the power boost. As you know, One for All, as a power stockpile quirk, will grant you with super strength, speed and resistance, but that's only physically speaking. I _don't know_ how it will interact with your Flame Being. What you _can_ expect is a sudden increase in power regarding to your Quirk."

"Really!? Awesome!!" Izuku's eyes were sparkling. No, really, they had stars on them. It was kinda freaky, actually.

 _'This kid surely is something else.'_ All Might though with a smile on his face, and sweat in the back of his head. "Well, Young Midoriya, I believe that you now have an exam to attend?"

"Oh, yeah, it's in a couple hours!! I need to go home, shower, prepare my spare clothes, all in three hours! Gotta go! See ya, All Might!" He left in a flash, leaving, an astounded Toshinori behind.

"Hehe, good luck, My boy..."

While running home, one thought crossed trough Izuku's mind.

 _'Who's was that voice I heard earlier?'_

 **xOx**

On the way towards U.A, Izuku met with Katsuki, who asked him what had he been doing this past months, that he seemed more introverted than usual. Izuku just told him that he had some personal training, deciding to clean the nearby beach as such, leaving every All Might related details aside. Better to keep some things to one self.

After a few minutes of walking, they were finally at U.A's massive entrance. Izuku was marveled, so much that he didn't noticed that he was no longer walking.

"Hey, nerd." Katsuki's voice awoke him from his daydreaming. "You coming, or what? Are ya chickening out on becoming a Hero?" He said this with a challenging smirk on his face.

"So-sorry, Kacchan! I'm coming" Izuku responded with a smile. _'Here it is. My first step in my journey to become the greatest hero!'_ And he proceeded to walk forward...

...just to trip over his _own foot. 'And my first trip, too. Really fate, I thought you were in my favor...'_ But the pain never came. Actually, he had unintentionally began a staring contest with the floor tiles. Bakugo, who had tried to stop his friend from giving the pavement his first kiss, could only watch with a raised brow as Deku hovered in the air, immobile.

"Oi, Deku. Is that a new aspect of your Quirk that you discovered or something?"

"U-uh, no... wait." The green haired boy's eyes widened. "WAAAAHH I'M FLOATING!! WHY AM I FLOATING!?"

"YOU'VE JUST REALIZED THAT, BROCCOLI HEAD!?" Bakugo screamed at him with shark teeth, as it happened every time that his childhood friend reacted quite slowly, or stupidly. Seriously, for someone as smart as Deku, he could really be a pain sometimes...

"Umm... Excuse me?" A shy voice said next to them, and when they turned to see (a little hard for Deku, given his current position) there was a girl standing there, with chestnut hair and some blush on her cheeks. "That's actually my Quirk..." she explained, pointing at the floating teen. "I'm sorry I used it without permission, but it would be a bad omen if you fell on your first day, right?" She asked with a kind smile.

"Heh, thanks for that, Round Face." Bakugo said to the girl, who was a little outputted by the nickname. _'Round Face?'_ She thought. "Deku here" he went on, pointing with his foot, "can be a bit of a klutz sometimes. Seriously, Deku. Tripping at the gate?"

"Hehe, I know, I know. But, um, excuse me, miss..."

"Ah. Uraraka Ochako! That's my name."

"Well, Uraraka-san, could you please put me down? I'm starting to feel a little lightheaded, and I'm beginning to see red, you know..." He was at a 60 degree angle, upside down. Luckily he wasn't a pervert, because he could easily peep under her skirt if he wanted to.

"Oh, yeah, here. **_Release!_** " She pressed her fingers together, effectively canceling her power, but Uraraka had forgotten the _unfortunate_ position her floating acquaintance was in. Midoriya dropped to the floor, yeah, but he did it _face first_. He was there, in a perfect scorpion position, an involuntary twitch on his leg.

Bakugo, who had attempted to point out about his friend's position, could only facepalm. _'Seriously!?'_

"O-Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" Uraraka apologized. "I should have realized that you were in a bad position!!"

"Ish ogkay..." Izuku's muffled voice assured. Ochako noticed that his shoulders where shaking, as well as his companions'. Were they mad at her? _'Nice job, Ochako. Not even the first day of class, and you already managed to make not one, but TWO people angry.'_

"Pfff..."/"Nghh"

"Huh?" Were they _laughing_? The green haired boy - _Deku, was it?_ \- had fell forwards, and now that he was looking up, she could clearly see the _face-splitting smile_ he had, as well as the smirk that the blonde wasn't trying to hide under his hand.

"Pfffhahahaha!!"/"Hehehehe!!"

"Get up, shitnerd! Or are you just gonna let yourself get manhandled by destiny like that? Hehehe..."

"Of course not!" Izuku responded, jumping to a standing position. "Relax, Uraraka-san, this is nothing!" The fire kid said to his new friend, because yes, from his point of view, Uraraka was already his friend. "If I trip, doesn't mean that I'll fall!" His words were full of something that Uraraka couldn't put her finger on, but clearly filled her with a new found confidence, and something else. "And if I fall, well..." he said walking past them. "If I fall, I'll just get up! I'm not gonna let something like that stop me."

"Hell yeah! If life turns it's back on you..."

 _"You just have to kick it's ass!!"_ Both guys finished together, with sends fists pumping in the air.

 _'These guys...'_ Uraraka thought, with a newfound respect towards both, the pointy blonde, and the bushy greenete.

"KACCHAN!!" Izuku suddenly yelled. "URARAKA-SAN!!" Both teens, a little surprised by the sudden outburst, turned to their friend, who was now looking at them, portraying a shit-eating grin on his face. "This right here, it's the start of our story!"

"It's shaping up to be one hell of an adventure." Bakugo added, with his own smirk.

 _'Mom, Dad, I can, no, I WILL do it. Just wait!'_ Uraraka also was feeling pumped up.

"Guys, let's do it!" Izuku said, and then he jumped and threw his arms to the air, smiling. **_"Let's become Heroes!"_**

 ** _"Yeah!"_** The other two said in unison.

 **xOx**

"That was quite the speech back there, nerd." Bakugo said to his friend. Once inside, they had to separate from Uraraka, who had a different sit. They were now in some conference room, and the Pro Hero Present Mic was trying fruitlessly to pump up his audience.

"Yeah, I don't know what came over me. Gosh, I can't believe I did that in front of a complete stranger! Now she must probably think I'm some weirdo, but there's also the fact the she came along with us after, so once again I'm probably..." Izuku went on a Muttering Rampage, much to Bakugo's amusement. _'There he goes again. Every time he goes like this, the same thing happens. Luckily, I'm prepared. Let's see, three, two, one...'_ In cue, Izuku's stomach growled slightly, shutting up the greenete, and causing Bakugo to chuckle. From his backpack, the explosive blonde got a piece of meat, to appease his friend's appetite.

"Here you go, nerd. This should do the trick."

"Th-thanks, Kacchan." Izuku responded, a little red from embarrassment. It happened every time he went "muttery". Bakugo had said once that _"Deku literally thinks with his stomach"_ , trying to explain that weird habit of getting hungry while muttering.

 _"AND YOU!"_ A stern voice suddenly called. Both friends turned to see a tall guy, with blue, tidy hair, red eyes, and glasses. He was too stiff. "Yes, you, the kid with the green hair and the food. If you are not here with serious intentions, I suggest you to leave! Look at you, eating without a care, how disrespectful!"

"Shut up, glasses!" Bakugo intervened. He wasn't going to let anyone badmouth his friend. Only _he_ knew him enough to do it! "He's nervous! Ya'now what that is? That's something us humans feel! Not everyone has to be _preprogrammed_ like you, robot!" Everyone began laughing at that. Defeated, and probably a little embarrassed, Glasses took seat. And Present Mic took the word, explaining the function of the _Zero Pointer_ , an obstacle that Glasses had pointed out before ranting, and about the different areas the applicants were going to be split into.

"Thanks for that, Kacchan." Izuku said between munches. And then he realized. "I've been thanking you a lot, today..."

"Think nothing of it, Deku. In which area are you, by the way? I'm in area A, according to this thing." He waved the card in his hand.

"I'm in area B. So that means we'll be separated."

"Don't you say, Sherlock." Bakugo retorted, rolling his eyes. "They're probably doing it so people like us, who've known each other for too long, won't be able to cooperate."

"Damn it," Izuku pouted, "I was looking forward to a Lord of the Rings style of competition."

"Maybe some other time, Deku." Bakugo comforted Izuku, patting him in the shoulder. "Maybe some other time."

"And remember, everyone!" The two friends looked back at Present Mic. Apparently, they got to hear the last part of his speech. "In the words of Napoleon Bonaparte, _A true hero is someone who overcomes life's misfortunes_. Now let's go to the main event. **_Plus Ultra!_** "

 **xOx**

"Whoa..." Izuku was now in front of the _stupidly big_ Training Area B. _'This place is huge! Just how big are U.A's campus?'_ He was having a snack, when he spotted his new friend. _'Uraraka-san got assigned here, too? Perhaps we can work together...'_

Just as he was going to approach her, a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. It was Glasses. "What are you doing? Can't you see she's trying to relax? Are you trying to sabotage her?"

Izuku's was going to take a page out of Katsuki's book and tell this guy to _fuck off_ when someone else grabbed him by the shoulder, _again. 'Oh my god, now what?'_

"I knew it was you, man! Ha! Now she owns me!!"

It was a teen with black hair, a red jogging outfit, and pointy teeth. _'Huh, just like Kacchan's when he's angry. Cool... wait.'_ "M-Me? Have we met before?"

"No, we haven't, by I know of you! You're the Suckerpuncher!"

 _'What?'_ "What? What do you mean with that?"

"The Suckerpuncher! You're the kid from the sludge villain incident a few months back, aren't ya? That bush on your head is unmistakable! I saw you on YouTube! The way you jumped into action to save that blonde dude, it was _manly!_ "

 _'I didn't noticed people recording...'_

 ** _"Go!!"_**

Everyone looked up at Present Mic, who was screaming at all the areas at the same time from an incredibly tall tower. "What are you waiting for? There's no countdown in real life! Go!"

As soon as he said this, Izuku turned to run at the gates, where everyone else was. _'Oh hell no. I'm not getting behind!!'_

Much to everyone's surprise (and panic for some people) there was fire going between them, moving like some sort of snake, and it was getting ahead of them. All that fire then took the form of a kid, at least from the waist up, who turned back to look at everyone and pulled down his eyelid - _oh hell no._

"Woohooo! They're pissed!!" It's not like they would target him anyway. _'Was that rude? Yeah.'_ Izuku was having a blast. _'Do I regret it? Nope.'_ "Hahahaha!!" And with that, he blasted forwards.

Not even ten seconds passed when the first enemy appeared, blasting trough a wall. _'One pointer!. It's fast, but physically weak!'_ "You're nothing! **_Shinka: Shiranui!"_**

The piercing attack destroyed the robot almost instantly. Izuku didn't even stopped to attack, jumping over the scraps. Around the corner, a group of bots was awaiting him. _'Two Two pointers, three One pointers and one Three pointer. A big group, but a small challenge nonetheless!'_ He pointed both of his hands towards the group as he approached them. **_"Hotarubi."_** His palms began glowing green, and he released small, green fireballs that resembled fireflies, while he passed quickly between them. Once on the other side, his palms turned orange, heating up the fire. **_"Hidaruma!!"_** All the "fireflies" that were surrounding the robots, exploded, engulfing them, and leaving nothing but scorched scraps. "That's ten more points in just a few seconds! If this is the exam, then I've got it in the bag! It's nothing compared to _that_!"

While running around, he collected twenty more points and managed to see how a Three pointer managed to lurk behind a boy with a laser on his stomach, that he swiftly ended with a well placed _Hiken_. The sparkly - _were those actual sparkles around him?_ \- blonde thanked him with a bow and a " _Merci_." After that, he just ran off. "Well, that was something. Now where else..."

"That's 32 points!"

 _'I recognize that voice!'_ Right behind him, was the guy who had recognized him before, slashing a Two pointer with his arms. He was quickly getting surrounded, and he wasn't going to get away of that easily. "Not on my watch!" Izuku screamed, and bolted towards the unfair situation, _bodyslamming_ a robot to bits to make himself an opening and standing back to back with the black haired attendant. "Manly Man." He greeted.

"Suckerpuncher, hey. Way to make an entrance, man. Care to lend me a hand?" The guy asked with a toothy grin, as he slashed another robot.

"That's why I'm here. No one gets hurt on my sight!" Izuku assured, as he dodged a Two pointer's strike, and _Kagero'd_ it's head off. With that said, between the two of them, clearing the place was a walk in the park. "That's a cool Quirk! What is it? It's a branch of the _CutSlash aspect_?"

"Hah! I wish. My Quirk is called Hardening! No more data needed, I guess." Shark Teeth said. Another bot down. "Not as flashy and versatile as yours, though. I've seen some things you've done. I'm envious, man!"

"Of what? From what _I've_ seen, yours is definitely a Pro's Quirk! **_Jujika!"_** With his fingers in a cross pattern, Izuku blasted a fire cross that decimated three enemies at the same time. He then raised a flaming fist up, towards his still back to back friend. "Midoriya Izuku, by the way."

"Eijiro Kirishima, the manliest guy around! Besides you, I guess." He responded, pumping a hardened fist against the fire one. "Man, thanks for that. Not everyone here was kind enough to help others! Besides you and me, I've seen only counted cases, but they weren't doing it from the kindness of their hearts!"

"AHHH" Someone shouted not too far away from them, and they turned to see a girl getting cornered by a Three pointer. Or at least that's what they assumed by the voice, seeing only floating clothes. _'Passive invisibility. Not a fighter tipe. She's in trouble!'_

"Midoriya! How strong are you?"

"Uhh, very, I'd like to think, why?"

Kirishima then hardened his entire upper half. "Toss me!"

Izuku instantly understood. "Ok. Good luck!" He then grabbed Kirishima's clothes, and aimed at the robot. **_"Akahi..."_** he announced, and launched his "projectile" at the enemy, who shouted in unison with him, **_"Piercing Shot!!"_** Effectively, he went towards, and _through_ the Three pointer. And once Kirishima made sure the girl was ok, he raised a thumbs up, signaling Izuku that everything was fine. At that moment, everything started to tremble. _'What is this! An earthquake?'_

He wishes it was an earthquake. From behind the buildings, a goddamn _behemoth_ came out.

 _'THAT'S THE ZERO POINTER? THE OBSTACLE? FORGET THE CAMPUS!! FROM WHERE DOES U.A GETS FOUNDS, LET ALONE GREEN LIGHT TO MAKE THESE THINGS?!'_ The monster was taller than the buildings around, and apparently, was programmed to _kill_ , as it punched the street mercilessly. _'Still, it's really cool.'_ He went starry eyed again.

"...riya. Midoriya! _Midoriya!!_ " Kirishima shook his friend, bringing him back to the land of the living. "C'mon, shake a leg!"

"R-Right, thanks!" Now wasn't the time to get excited. "Time to run! Hahaha!"

 _"It hurts!"_

Both teens stopped in their tracks, faces full of dread. They made eye contact, and turned to see someone trapped under some rubble. _'Uraraka-san...'_

 ** _['It would be a bad omen if you fell on your first day, right?']_**

He didn't even though.

"Midoriya, wait!!" Kirishima's shout went either unheard, or ignored. Izuku no longer could be seen amongst the thick layer of dust around him. And from said cloud of dust, something, or rather _someone_ was tossed out, whom Kirishima catched. It was the girl. "Hey, hey! You ok?"

"Yeah, well, almost. My ankle..." It was twisted. "Wait, what about the one who helped me? Where is he?"

"Don't you dare..." Midoriya's voice came from the bottom of the Zero Pointer. "TO HURT MY FRIENDS!! **_ANTI-MANNER KICK COURSE!!!"_** Directly after said declaration, the metal beast went flying up and _backwards_ , and the wind created cleared all the dust, showing Izuku, who had his left leg up, in a perfect 180 degrees angle. Though the leg itself didn't seem in a good shape. It was bending unnaturally, thing that Izuku was ignoring totally. And as he was putting down said extremity, he turned his bottom half in fire and flew towards the behemoth. Everyone, meanwhile was having a collective mental breakdown. _'HE KICKED THAT THING? JUST HOW STRONG IS HE?'_

 _'Why am I doing this?'_ Midoriya wondered. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as he approached the beast. _'I helped other attendants. Yet with none I felt like this. But I do remember when I felt this way.'_

 _Flashback_

 _As he made eye contact, Izuku saw an expression he considered impossible in the blond. Despair. 'Help me!'_

 _End Flashback_

 _'It's just like Kacchan. Not thinking. Just reacting.'_ He cocked his fist, who was glowing and getting hotter, and hotter, and his entire arm turned into a fire that was _white-hot_. _'This is it. I can feel it. One for All...'_

 ** _['Oh my, Izu! I'm so happy! You'll make a great hero someday!']_**

 _'One for All, it's not just a power. It's a legacy.'_

 ** _['C'mon, Deku! Get up! The world will crush you with that attitude, and I ain't plannin' on getting to the top alone, ya hear?']_**

 _'I... I can do it.'_

 ** _['Midoriya is so strong!_**

 ** _There's no doubt about his future!_**

 ** _He'll be the best!']_**

 _'I can be...'_ His face broke into a smile. _'THE HERO EVERYBODY WANTS ME TO BE!'_

And he punched. **_"NOVA SMAAAAAASH!!"_**

 **xOx**

An explosion was heard, felt and witnessed from all the Training Areas. But there was someone in Training Area A that knew exactly what had caused it.

 _'That's Deku's work. No doubt. I couldn't feel anyone that came near our level, at least not close enough to cause that.'_ Bakugo reasoned, while blasting another "useless piece of trash" that was pestering a short kid with purple balls for hair. "Hey, pipsqueak." He said at the terrified kid. "Scram. And be careful, dipshit. Not everyone will jump to help." The shorty only managed to nod quickly and run. _'He'll be fine. But I wonder what made Deku cause such a ruckus. Ah, well. He'll spit it later, for sure. Now, I've got points to make.'_ "DIE!!" He shouted, jumping towards another unfortunate robot.

 **xOx**

Back at Training Area B, Izuku was hovering down slowly, admiring the sheer power he had now. _'Damn! All Might had said my Quirk would boost, but this? I managed to reach a temperature range I've only researched about! And the physical strength as a plus! Awesome!!'_

Of the Zero Pointer, nothing was left. The blast had _evaporated_ it, and the heatwave had decimated the smithereens as well. The punch had created an four pointed star-shaped explosion, with the blast resembling a beacon, and the remnants of the _white-hot fire blast_ were still shining in the sky, looking like a star.

Now in ground, Izuku tried to land standing, only to fall as he felt a pain in his left leg at the moment he touched land. "Ugh, it hurts! Why?" He then noticed the state his leg, as well as his right arm, was. "Broken? I guess I'm not ready to handle the full percentage of One for All. Bummer. That means I'll have to get stronger, then!"

"Midoriya!"/"Deku-kun!"

 _'Huh, someone's calling me... wait. Only Kacchan calls me Deku. Then who...?'_ He attempted to get up, and managed to see Kirishima approach him, with a limping Ochako on his shoulder. _'Right. Never told her my name, and was there when Kacchan talked to me.'_ "Hey guys. Uraraka-san, how are you?"

"Dumbass!!" She screamed, bumping Izuku in the head, leaving a small smoking lump on it. The poor guy could only hold back the pain because he was, well, in a bigger pain right now. The shock though, was a whole other story. _'Did she just punched me!? How!? I'm supposed to be intangible!!'_ Massaging the lump with his good hand, Izuku looked at the brunette, who was teary eyed. "We're supposed to ask you that! Look at yerself! Why! Why'd ya did it?" She asked, a little accent slipping.

"Yeah man! That was suicidal! Manly, yeah, but suicidal nonetheless!! Are you nuts?" Kirishima was shivering. Wether from excitement, or fear, Izuku couldn't tell. Probably both.

"You're my friend, Uraraka-san." Izuku responded honestly, shrugging his shoulders, action he automatically regretted because of his arm's way to announce it wasn't something he should do. "And I protect my friends. That's it. But man..." He slumped back. "Never expected to cause that much destruction."

 ** _"The time IS OUT!"_** Present Mic's voice announced.

"Uh... I guess I lost all those extra points then..." Izuku muttered, and looked at Uraraka. "Worth it, though. Friends and family before everything."

Not too long after that, an old lady that the sparkling French introduced as Recovery Girl came giving gummy bears, and stopped in front of Izuku and company. "Oh, dear. Look at yourself. Did your Quirk did that to you?" She asked the greenete.

"I believe so... That, or I don't know my own strength! Hahaha!" Izuku joked, which earned him _another_ lump. _'Seriously, how does Uraraka-san manage to surpass my Quirk's permeability? Ouch...'_

"Now, now honey. Do not aggravate his state. Let me take care. **_Kiss!!"_** Recovery Girl's lips stretched, kissing Izuku in the forehead, and he instantly began to glow green in his injuries. He was as good as new, but... "Waaahhhgg, sooo tired... I feel like I've just gotten myself waist-deep into water!"

"Of course, sonny. My Quirk accelerates your natural healing process, and healing takes energy. Now is your turn, little lady." She repeated the process in Uraraka.

"So, I only have to recover energy? Easy!" Izuku then pulled a protein bar from his pocket. "I'll just eat, then."

"Oi, Midoriya." Kirishima said. "While that idea might work, you'll probably need more food than that... and some appropriate rest."

"Nah. This'll work! I got this personalized protein bars that equals to 3 and a half kilograms worth of food. Plus, my body is weird when it comes to digestion. Not that I complain about that, though." He explained patting his stomach. Then, he tossed the bar straight to his mouth, and downed it in one go, again. He flexed his hands, and when he felt himself burst with energy, he threw them in the air, fire coursing through his body. "Now I'm back! Uraraka-san, are you feeling ok?"

"Yeah, my injury wasn't nowhere near as bad as yours were, so I'm just a little dizzy... plus, I was almost at my Quirk's limit..." She was a little green. _'Got to analyze more her Quirk.'_

"Kirishima-kun, how about you?"

"I'm fine, man just a few scratches. Nothing worse than a papercut!" He flexed his arm, as to prove he was ok.

"Good! I don't like to see my friends in a bad state!" Midoriya flashed them a toothy smile. "Now we split, but I'm sure we'll see each other again, at U.A! You guys undoubtedly passed, I know!" He extended his fist. "So, this is not goodbye, just a see you later!"

The other two shared a look, and when between them they were nothing but acquaintances, they could easily see themselves in the same group of friends, if Midoriya was there, too. So, smiling, the three bumped their fists together. **_"Yeah!"_**

Unbeknownst to them, there was someone witnessing this entire exchange, a contemplative look in his eyes. _'So apparently, not only had he been the best man being the one who discovered the secret behind the exam, I misjudged him at a personal level. He is a good person. I must apologize at the brevity.'_ A little smile appeared on Tenya Iida's lips.

Once the exchange and promise was made, everyone left, and outside, Izuku met Bakugo back, who obviously asked about the kickass explosion. Izuku told him about the Zero Pointer, and Uraraka, as well as the word exchange, and the promise made between them. "So that's what happened, huh? Now I want to go back and blast that beast, so we'd be even!" Bakugo growled, sparks on his palms. "I mean, I could've done it if I wanted to, but points were more important. And I didn't had a damsel in distress, like you, Deku."

"Ha ha. Very funny, Kacchan. Anyway, teasing aside," Izuku got serious, as it was a topic they wanted to approach carefully, "what do you think about the recruits? Are they good enough?"

"They are. Round Face had a strong aura, top B, Lower A, probably. And from what you told me about Shark Teeth, he definitely has potential. A, no doubt. Even Glasses' aura felt familiar. Also A." And then, Bakugo smirked. "And even if they weren't, you already recruited them into our group, so it wouldn't matter. You always get what you want, one way or another..."

"Haha, yeah, right?" Izuku sheepishly admitted, scratching his neck.

 **xOx**

It's been a week since the Entrance Exam, and Izuku was having a staring contest with his fish.

"Izu, honey, are you feeling ok?" His mother, Inko, asked his son, who came down from Cloud 9. "Are you worried about your exam? If that's it, I'm sure you passed!" The woman hadn't change much, gaining only a little extra weight, due to her never blaming herself for her son's problems, so the stress never impacted on her.

"I-it's fine Mom, I'm okay!" He assured her, finishing his twelfth bowl of katsudon. Perhaps all that extra cooking worked as extra exercise to the older Midoriya... _'She's not entirely wrong, tough.'_ He was thinking about the exam, yeah, but about someone else entirely.

 _[A kind smile. A pointy grin. A confident smirk.]_

Feeling himself burst, Izuku took deep breaths, and got into a lotus position. Earlier in his life, whenever a situation represented too much for him, Izuku would spontaneously combust, so he came to the conclusion that he needed a way to control himself. Meditation seemed like the correct answer, as it helped him whenever his Quirk began to consume every aspect of him.

 _'They'll be fine.'_ Breath. _'They passed.'_ Breath. _'We made a promise.'_ Breath.

A fire ring spun around him, shooting fire bursts up, caging Izuku in a spinning fire cage. The "bars" would open, cross, and twist all around, but they never touched another bar. It was quite the display. It was a reflection of Izuku's mind state during his meditation.

"Izuku!!" His mother's voice brought him out of his trance, and his _mental cage_ dissolved into nothing. She was carrying a small envelope. "It's here!"

Inko was left outside his son's bedroom, awaiting the results. Inside, Izuku was analyzing the envelope, as it was slightly heavier than a regular envelope. Against his lightened palm, it was revealed that it wasn't a letter, it was a little round object. So he carefully burned the paper, letting the small device fall on his desk, from where an hologram appeared.

 _"Hello? Testing, 1,2,3..."_

Izuku's eyes widened. _'Wait a second, isn't that's...'_

 _"AM I ON SCREEN?"_ All Might's projection shouted. _"I'm sorry young Midoriya, that we couldn't get... what? What do you say citizen, carry on? But I was having... It will be mailed?"_

Izuku's amusement over his mentor's antiques overrode his shock of seeing him in an official U.A mail. _'Why is he delivering the message?'_

 _"Ah, well. Young Midoriya, we might see more of each other again, seeing as I have decided to teach at U.A!"_

"WHAT!?" Izuku screamed, so surprised that some fire sparks came from his hair. He had to assure his mother that everything was fine, as he heard her stumble against something due to his outburst. _'So All Might will be teaching at U.A?'_

 _"As you might assume, you aced the written exam, and managed to get 47 Villain Points in the practical exam! That alone is enough to assure your entrance!"_

"Yeah... it's happening..." He felt himself burst again, but he had to control himself, as the message wasn't over yet.

 _"But, I would like you to see the next recording."_

 ** _[A screen shows an image. It shows a wrecked city. It was Training Area B. Several scenes pass. They show a common theme. A green haired kid, helping. And influencing the people around him, with three people in particular standing out.]_**

 _'Uraraka-san! Kirishima-kun! And the straight bespectacled guy!'_ All of them had helped someone after witnessing Izuku saving another person. _'Why is U.A. showing me this?'_

 ** _[The scene changes. It shows the Zero Pointer Incident, and it's aftermath. A different angle of the Promise shows the bespectacled guy as a witness of the exchange. There's a hint of approval in his eyes.]_**

 _"How can we let pass these kind of selfless actions? For you see, Young Midoriya, there was a second type of Points! Rescue Points! Given by a staff according to the heroic deeds demonstrated in the Exam!"_

 _"Kirishima Eijiro: 42 Rescue Points!" **[It showed an image of Kirishima acting as a human shield, his hardened arms in a x-pattern, blocking a Two Pointer's punch that had another student as an objective.]**_

 _"Uraraka Ochako: 33 Rescue Points!" **[It showed Uraraka stopping with her Quirk a big piece of rubble that threatened to crush someone.]**_

 _"Tenya Iida: 27 Rescue Points!" **[There was an image of Iida with an injured attendant on his back, running away of the destruction of the Zero Pointer.]**_

 _"And finally, the boy, no, the HERO who inspired all of these people actions, the one who inadvertently told everyone that there was something more important that defeating Villains. Sacrificing oneself for the sake of other's wellbeing! The main core of being a Hero! Midoriya Izuku: 60 Rescue Points!" **[This time, two images overlapped: in one, Izuku was shown punching the Zero Pointer, the explosion in front of him. In the other, he was shown once recovered, his arms in the air, smiling and surrounded by his friends, who were also smiling.]**_

 _"Everyone in the panel of judges were touched by your performance, as well as your friends'. All of you, have passed with flying colors! So come, Young Midoriya..."_

Izuku could feel the lump in his throat, but he didn't care. The tears were flowing freely down his face. And he was _damn proud_ of them. _'I... I did it... guys. My promise... I can finally fulfill it!!'_

 _"To Your Hero Academia!!"_

 _ **"YEAAAAAAAAH!!!"**_

Izuku's cry of joy could be heard kilometers all around.

 **xOx**

That night, Izuku slept peacefully. But deep within him, something wasn't resting. Only a grin was visible. **_'This definitely got interesting. Midoriya 'Deku' Izuku. Heh. Midoriya 'D.' Izuku. Another carrier of the Will... Hehehe.'_**

 ** _'There's a storm coming.'_**

~CDS~

 ** _The mysteries begin! There's hints about something planned for the future of this story, as well as hints towards some iconic animanga scenes. Kudos to those who figure them out!_**

 ** _The next Chapter: First day of class! Potential Measurement._**

 ** _I can't promise it'll be as long as this one, but if there's a good response for this chapter, I'll make a small Omake telling how a previous version of this story went by: BNHA: Gomu-Gomu no Trouble!_**

 ** _Remember that I'm having problems irl, so I won't make any promises of when the next chapter will come out. So please, be patient._**

 ** _Read ya._**


	5. First Day of Class! Power Measurement

**_Hey everyone, and welcome back to Hiken no Deku!_**

 ** _One review pointed that this should be a One Piece crossover, but this is an BNHA fic with One Piece-like details, like the latter's humor, and perhaps one or two parallelisms, but beyond the Prologue, there WON'T be any One Piece characters suddenly appearing in Japan or anything like that._**

 ** _Of this chapter, I'm not proud *insert Master Yoda's voice here*. The ripples will come eventually (the feared Butterfly of Doom is inevitable), but, as you will see here, for now is mostly a canon copy paste, save for some details that will become very relevant soon enough._**

 ** _I will clarify something: both Izuku and Bakugo will start off stronger that their canon counterparts. Remember when Katsuki said he could have destroyed the Zero Pointer? It wasn't just rivalry bluff. He HAS the power to support said statement. Soon the rest of class 1-A, and some Pros too, will catch up. I just wanted to let that out before any complaints from what's written down here came._**

 ** _Enough chitchat, you guys are here for the story (hopefully). Let's go!_**

~CDS~

U.A. The most prestigious Hero School in Japan, or perhaps the world. It relies on high standards, seeing that most Pro Heroes in the Top Charts come from this academy. Said standards are reflected in every aspect of the Academy, including the way it filters who enters and who doesn't.

The Entrance Exam. It can be either a golden opportunity, or a threatening guillotine, depending entirely on you.

Based on a Point System, it splits in two parts: the _Villain Points_ , gathered defeating faux villains; and the secret _Rescue Points,_ obtained only when you save someone sacrificing the chance of getting Villain Points. The sum of both types of points results in your odds of getting or not getting into U.A.

"This year's bunch seems very promising."

At the moment, the U.A staff was analyzing the performance of their to-be students. "Specially the top 3. Getting such a high score hasn't been unheard of, yet it has been a couple of years since we witnessed high performances on _both_ sides of the exam." There were monitors showing images of the highest scored students. "The first place, Izuku Midoriya, not only faced the _gimmick_ , a feat also realized by previous attendants, he _obliterated it,_ something that hasn't happened in _years_ , all the while still inspiring people to save anyone in danger."

"The second place, Katsuki Bakugo, really was a surprise. During the first half, he took advantage of the _One_ and _Two Pointers_ mechanical disadvantages against his agility, gathering only their points." A recording shows Bakugo jumping left and right destroying bots, when suddenly, he stops in front of a group, turns around, and runs around the corner, away from the robots. "And when we thought we had grasped a good reading of his person, he abandoned a clear chance of getting more points by rescuing an endangered attendant _who was two blocks away from him._ How he managed to know about the predicament, we don't know. We'll certainly have to ask him about that sixth sense of his."

In the back of the room, a perpetually tired man was silently analyzing the footage, contrasting with his boisterous coworkers. _'Jeez, why do they have to make such a scandal...'_ His sight locked on the images of the top two, his blood shotted eyes squinting in suspicion. _'Those two... will mean a lot of trouble.'_

 **xOx**

It was the night after the notification letter of the Entrance Exam's results were given. At the Dagoba Municipal Beach, a scrawny looking man, was looking at a distant couple, relishing on the fact that the place was now a preferential retreat for couples, all thanks to an "anonymous hero", who had decided to clean the place.

 _"All Might!!"_ Speak of the Devil...

" _Blargh_ -ou taking to!?" SkeleMight shouted at his recently arrived pupil, through teeth and blood.

Unfortunately, the couple managed to hear the young man's declaration. _"Did he say All Might? Where?"_

" _Shit_. Quick, Midoriya, _repeat after me:_ I had the wrong person." **_(A/N: I founded hilarious that in the original Japanese version of the anime, he actually said 'repeat after me' in English. So funny!)_**

The freckled kid threw his arms around and "corrected" his misunderstanding. "U-Uh, sorry, I had the wrong person!" The couple, a little disappointed, resumed their date.

"Hey kid." Toshinori raised his hand towards the younger. "Congratulations on getting in!" He said with a grin. Izuku joyfully high-fived. "As you now might assume, I haven't informed the Academy about our meeting point, nor our relationship. You'd think you passed by my influence and connections, but I wasn't one of the judges. You did all that on your own!"

As the chat prolonged, All Might told Izuku that U.A was aware of the pro's condition, and that he was on the search for a successor, to what Izuku deducted he wanted to find one amongst the students in there. "One for All, it's such an incredible power, but... only one punch, one kick managed to destroy my body, All Might."

"Well, that's to be expected. Your body needs to adapt to something foreign to it, but the thing is that you've witnessed what's in for you now!" The older said, and crouched to grab a can of soda thrown there. "As of now, you're in between %100 or %0. But the longer you train it, the better your grasp will be, being capable of lowering the power influx, and saving your body from using the full strength."

"Think of this: the more you build up the vessel, the more you can control the power within it!" And, bulking up, All Might crushed the can in his hand. **_"Like this!"_** _'Young man, the flame that I've passed you is still small. But faced against the hazards of life, it will grow strong, and there will be no storm capable of putting it off.'_

 _"Hey it's that All Might!? When did he get here?"_

"Uh-oh. C'mon Young Midoriya, time to run!"

As they sprinted across the beach, All Might kept thinking. _'You will surpass me, young one. My flame will slowly fade away, eventually vanishing. And my duty will be done!'_ Once out of the beach, All Might went back to his skeletal form. "Ok, kid. Now that you know how to use One for All, now you need to adjust it. And the key to adjusting it..." A necessary dramatic pause. Izuku eagerly awaited the answer. "It's the _feeling_!" He screamed at the top of his lungs, arms spread wide for added effect.

"So cool! Just as expected of All Might!"

"You've already shown us your %100." All Might told his student while punching the air.

"Yeah, and it turns my bones into a set of _Lego_ blocks..." Izuku sarcastically replied.

"Don't you see, kid? The memory of that sensation is the key. How did it feel!?"

"Ah, that?" Izuku grabbed his chin, a gesture common in him while thinking, and, to the infinite curiosity and amusement of All Might, a question mark popped up on top of Izuku's head. Not a metaphorical one, mind you, a _literal_ question mark, made of the same fire his pupil was capable of controlling. "Well, there was a _zap_!" And the question mark changed it's form into a _lightning bolt_. "Or was it a _boom_?" A comic book-like explosion. "Ah, I know! Imagine an egg in a microwave! _Ding_." And finally, an exclamation mark, that reminded Yagi of his younger days playing _Metal Gear Solid._ That was too much for the One for All user, that bursted into bloody laughter.

"HAHAHAHAHA!! You're too much for me kid, sorry! Hahaha!!" Five minutes and a lot of years of stress out of his system later, Yagi, catching his breath, resumed their talk. "Now, going back to your metaphor, when you picture that microwave, try lowering the wattage, and reduce the timer setting. However you visualise it, it's ok as long as the egg doesn't burst. Doesn't matter how low key it is, I want you to focus on that image. Also, do you have any idea of _how_ One for All synergies with your Flame Being?" He inquired with a raised brow.

At this, Izuku furrowed his brows in consideration. "I actually have a couple theories. Aside from the _physical enhancement_ , my fire power spiked." He remembered the _blast_ that disintegrated the Zero Pointer, and leveled the majority of the surrounding area. "That attack I made back in the Exam, my arm busted because I actually made use of my body. But I have a theory, and I would like to test it, but it'll have to be with Recovery Girl near, in case I'm wrong."

"What is this theory of yours?"

Izuku raised his hand, and closed it into a fist, and channeled One for All in it, proved by the glow and red veins of power coursing through. "Well, some attacks, such as _Hiken_ or _Concasse_ , require that I use a physical attack, let it be a punch or a kick, respectively. Those moves, combined with One for All, would definitely destroy my bones. But," and he opened the fist, canceling One for All, and a little flame came alive in his palm. "I have an entire repertoire of moves that are entirely fire based. If I'm right, One for All should help me to overcome the limits my Quirk has, letting me reach higher temperatures, and improve the power behind said attacks. And as I wouldn't be using my body, I should be ok." And he let the flame disperse.

"I... see. As this is all theoretical, you'd need RG assistance in case your assumptions are mistaken. You definitely are smart, boy." All Might smiled. _'I'm sure now. There's no better person than you to receive my power, Young Midoriya. When I'm gone, the world is going to be in good hands.'_

 **xOx**

It's springtime. That beautiful time of the year where the Sun shines, the flowers bloom, and classes begin.

"Izuku, did you pack a tissue?" And that meant it was finally time. Three weeks had passed in the blink of an eye, and the first day of class was here. And Izuku was _late_. The constant reminders of his mother didn't helped him either.

"Yeah mom, I packed everything! Gosh, I'm late, look at the hour..."

"Izuku, wait!"

His hand was already at the doorknob. "What, mom? What is it?" He asked, a little bit pissed off.

A proud smile graced her lips, her eyes shining with admiration. "You look so cool, now."

Izuku realized he had been a little harsh with his mother, that only wanted to encourage him, so he went and hugged her. After a few seconds, they split. "Well, I'm in my way! Bye mom!"

 **xOx**

"Class 1-A, class 1-A, man this place is big..." Midoriya was running in the hallways of U.A, looking for his classroom. "Hmm, wonder were _they_ are. It would be cool if we were in the same class... Kacchan could have waited for me, though. Rude." When he finally found the class door, it was _way too big._ "Whoa... probably for gigantification Quirks." Then he opened the door.

"Would you please put your feet of the desk? Is a disrespect to those who made the desk, and our sempais that have used it before us!" It was a very tall guy, someone that he knew. _'It's Glasses! And...'_ Izuku felt really happy at that moment, when he saw who Glasses _-Tenya Iida, according to the Entrance Exam's recording-_ was lecturing.

"Go and pick someone else to bother, Glasses! I'm-" He couldn't finish, as a streak of green and grey zipped from the door, tumbling Iida to a side, and taking Bakugo off his seat.

"KACCHAN!!" Izuku downright _glomped_ on his childhood friend, and squeezed the joy out of him. "We're classmates, we're classmates!! Woohoo!" He was spinning around, while the blonde could feel his bones getting crushed under the freckled boy's hug. Katsuki could usually tolerate his friend's childish antiques, but having to withstand Glasses' lecturing before, right now he didn't had any patience left.

"OI SHITNERD LET GO!! I'M NOT IN THE MOOD FOR THIS SHIT!!" Izuku pointedly ignored the blonde's threats, as most times they were half-assed, even if this _wasn't_ the case. "PUT ME DOWN, BEFORE I MAKE YOU!!" Both teens, too busy celebrating and popping a vessel, didn't noticed a certain someone approach them.

"Midoriya? Is it you, man?"

Izuku, who faintly recognised the voice that called him, put down his friend, that took the chance to finally breath and crack his back, and turned to see a red haired boy standing there. Funny, he didn't remember anyone with red, pointy hair, yet he could tell he knew this guy. "C'mon! It's only been a few weeks! Did you seriously forgot our promise?" _Promise?_ That ring a bell in his head. The teen, whose patience apparently was very durable, only waited, smiling _pointly_.

 _'Huh, just like Kacchan when he's angry. Cool... WAIT'_ Izuku couldn't believe his eyes. "K-K-KIRISHIMA-KUN!? IS IT REALLY YOU!?" The Hardening user threw his head back, laughing at the greenete's astounded expression. "WHAT HAPPENED TO YOUR HAIR!?"

"Long story, buddy. But that's for another time! Aren't ya going to introduce me?"

While Izuku, Bakugo, Kirishima and Iida, that took the opportunity to salute properly at the Fire user and apologize for the misunderstanding in the exam, introduced themselves and discussed their abilities, the rest of the class only looked at the group, rather interested in the fact that the green haired boy had a _thing_ , something that they couldn't put their finger on it, but made him _interesting_. Like a black hole of charisma, that forced them to automatically like him. Bar some exceptions.

"That green hair!" A feminine voice called from the door. The whole class turned to see a girl, who had a very big smile on her face, one that Izuku mirrored tooth by tooth, while Bakugo only raised an eyebrow, calling bullshit on the situation. Seriously, what were the chances? Despite that, he was smirking, clearly amused by the fact that everyone turned to be classmates. Deku really got away with it again. Kirishima also smiled, recognizing the third member of _the Promise._

"Uraraka-san! You're here too!!" The Zero Gravity user closed the distance that split them, giving Izuku a high five, well, high _four_ in her case, unless she wanted her friend be upside down. _'Now_ that _would be an awesome personalized greeting.'_

"If you are here to make friends, I recommend you to go back to kindergarten. This isn't the place, so stop wasting time." A tired voice said from behind the group of friends. Said voice belonged to a man in a yellow sleeping bag that made him look similar to a caterpillar. A hand popped from inside the bag, carrying a box of juice that the man emptied in one go. Almost everyone had a _wtf?_ expression, except for two people. A red and white haired kid, and Bakugo. The former because of his stoic nature.

And Bakugo because he felt the stranger's aura. And it was _huge. 'With those looks he could easily fool anyone, but not me.'_ He broke into cold sweat. _'This guy is strong. Who is he? I don't recognize him...'_ While he was thinking, the sleepy guy had came out of his sleeping bag, revealing that he was wearing a full black outfit, and had what looked like a scarf around him. He stood in front of the classroom, and those who were standing automatically took seat. "It took you fifteen seconds to shut up. Any villain would have slayed you in half that time." He spoke (and looked) like he hadn't had a proper sleep in _months_. "My name is Shota Aizawa, and I'm your homeroom teacher."

 _'This man is our teacher?'_ Izuku didn't believe it. _'That means he's a Pro Hero. But he doesn't look like one... or like a healthy person. I'm sure he'll pass out at any moment.'_ He was sitted right behind Bakugo, and was about to ask him if he recognized their new teacher, but Aizawa took some clothes from inside his bag, and spoke to the class. "This are your PE uniforms. Go put these on and meet me outside."

Everyone complied. It's not like they could refuse, actually. And while they were on the way to the changing rooms, Bakugo and Izuku stayed in the tail and talked. "Oi, Deku, before you ask, no, I don't know who that guy is. But let me tell you, he is strong. His aura is a _freaking beacon._ He dwarfed almost everyone back there. That guy is a _freaking Top S level."_ Izuku's head turned so fast, it was a miracle his neck didn't snapped. Disbelief was written all over his face. "Are you sure you don't have him in your notes?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. But he's a Pro, otherwise he wouldn't be here, teaching." With a sigh, he dismissed the topic. "Well, we'll figure it out later. So, tell me. How's everyone here?" Izuku asked, taking a general look at his classmates.

"Incredible, actually." Bakugo's tone was honest and surprised. "Almost everyone here has a Top B or Lower A aura, and we still have to see most of their Quirks. Except for the pipsqueak over there." He signaled with his head at the shortest student, that was not so subtly checking out the females. "He is a _C class_. I actually saved his ass back in the Exam. How he managed to get into this class, I don't know." His eyes scanned the crowd, and he frowned when he found who he was looking for. "And then we have those two." Izuku directed his sight to whom his friend mentioned, them being the stoic bi-colored hair kid, and a black haired girl with a big ponytail.

"What's with them? Apart from the scar on the boy's face, they don't seem to stand out."

"They're both _S Class_."

Once again, Izuku almost snaps his neck. "WHAT!?" As soon as he screamed, he covered his mouth and shrunk on his spot. He got red when everyone turned to see why he had screamed like that. Bakugo, quite pissed off, dope-slapped his companion over the head, which received several raised eyebrows and some chuckles, and he dismissed everyone with a wave.

"Did you really have to scream like that, dumbass?"

"Sorry..." Izuku apologized, scratching his neck. "It's just, I'm surprised! Two S Class? You mean that there's someone as strong as _we_ are?"

"Yeah. In the moment they stepped into the classroom, their auras flared. They're not as big as Caterpillar back there though, they are more like ours, more him than her. And I have my suspicion about Bird Head over there." Effectively, there was a literal bird headed person ahead. "He's suppressing his aura, although I believe he's not doing it consciously. He just wants to go unnoticed." Bakugo then tilted his head, a curious expression on his face. "There's something else about him. I sense an anomaly in his aura, like a second presence. Perhaps it's his Quirk, having a sentient being in him. If that's the case, his status as an S Class can have a more solid base. Those type of Quirks tend to be extremely powerful, and hard to control."

"Ok, so we have another potential S Class. This is really surprising. Four, possibly five S Class in one year. This might be really interesting."

"Heh, you can say that again. Now c'mon, let's get this over with."

 **xOx**

Once everyone had changed, they went outside and found Aizawa next to a pitching area. They didn't expected the news the man would deliver.

"A Quirk Apprehension Test!?"

"But Aizawa Sensei," Uraraka stood up, worry clearly reflected in her expression. "Aren't we gonna miss the orientation?"

"If you want to be Pro Heroes, you don't have time for such niceties." Aizawa gave everyone a side glance. "I'm sure you know about U.A's flexibility regarding the campus. Said 'flexibility' applies to us teachers too. _Softball pitch. Standing long jump. 50 meter dash. Endurance running. Grip strength test. Sustained sideways jumps. Upper body exercise. Seated toe-touch._ Common physical exercises that you all had in middle school, but you had forbidden the use of your Quirks. A huge mistake from the MEXT, if you ask me. Even if government still doesn't have a proper way to include Quirks in said tests due to variety." He turned around and squinted his eyes. _'Normally, I'd go with Midoriya for the first pitch, but he's still a wild card with how unstable his Quirk is.'_ So, he had to go with the next in line. "Bakugo." The blonde stepped ahead, and Aizawa tossed him a softball. "What was your farthest throw back in middle school?"

"105 meters." Most students clearly didn't believe said declaration. Izuku, on the other hand, was frowning. _'As you would say Kacchan, bullshit. 105? If you go all out, you could reach 160 meters. What are you planning?'_

Aizawa seemed unfazed (or he simply didn't care) by the outlandish number. "Ok, now I want you to throw that, but this time, use your Quirk. And don't hold back. As long as you don't leave the circle, anything is allowed." At this, a feral grin split Bakugo's face, and Izuku sweatdropped. _'Yep, I know that face. He ain't holding back at all.'_ He decided to raise his guard, least it be the case that Katsuki went overboard and ended up destroying part of the ground.

He knows from experience.

Bakugo made some stretches, and with a **"DIE!!"** he tossed the ball, increasing it's impulse with a massive explosion, sending it up in the sky. _'Ngh, die? Some habits die hard, ne Kacchan?'_ Izuku chuckled, and let down his guard. Aizawa checked the result, that for his personal expectations, was well within the boundaries. "Take this as the base line for the test in the heroics department. The first thing you need to do about your Quirks, it's to know their limits." He showed the measuring device at his _potential_ students. Izuku knew well about his friend's limits, so he took the chance for a quick analysis of the rest of his peers.

"Whoa!! 1.225 meters!? Amazing!" _Blonde hair, charismatic. A black lightning highlight. Natural or died? Must ask. Possible electricity user._

"Now this looks like fun!!" _Fully pink body, hair included. Black eyes. Potentially enhanced vision? Extrovert._

 _'Fun, huh?'_ Aizawa wasn't one to tolerate childish demeanour, less in the heroics class. A future hero should be serious about his goals and the path that leads to them. "Were you planning on spending the next three years of class partying and enjoying yourselves? Well, let's settle a reality check: whomever comes last in the exams, will get expelled."

Most of the class was outraged by this, Uraraka voicing, once again, the popular thought. "Expelled? On the first day? Isn't that unfair? Everyone deserves a chance!"

"But not everyone gets it." Aizawa responded, his years of experience coming to light. "Natural disasters, powerful villains, terrorism, you name it. Life isn't fair. It's only up to those that can overcome those challenges to earn themselves the title of Heroes. Plus Ultra." He removed his hair from his face, revealing a demonic grin. "Welcome to the Hero Course."

That alone was enough to scare the majority of the class. But Aizawa knew. Like this, he made sure to filter those that had a clash with life's misfortunes in the past, this being nothing in comparison. He could tell that only a handful were deserving of being part of U.A's student group.

"Deku, pay attention." Bakugo had returned to his friend's side, completely confident in his, and some others, chance to pass this. "It's time." Izuku nodded. They were lucky to have a physical exam on their first day. It was the perfect opportunity to analyze everyone's physical prowess, and see if they could put up with their willpower. He knew that he couldn't rely on One for All for the exams, but he could compensate. He was a _Jack-of-all-trades_ , after all.

Even if he didn't knew it.

 _Test one: 50 meters dash._

A very basic test, that helped Izuku to get a good look at his classmates Quirk expertise. The twenty students were split into pairs, and most made regular times. Except for some. The first pair was Iida, and a girl with a frog-like appearance.

 _"Go!"_ The robot announced. The Engine user cleared the track in little over three seconds, with the frog girl making a little over five. _'A pretty obvious result, seeing Iida-kun's Quirk. Like a fish in the water.'_ The next pair was Uraraka, who made use of her Quirk negating the gravity on her clothes, against a short haired boy with a _massively muscular_ tail. The Zero Gravity user, from what Izuku heard, barely managed to surpass her middle school's own record, while GigaTail used his appendage as a spring to make a very good time. Next were the sparkling French, and the pink girl, whom Izuku knew, thanks to Kirishima, her name was Mina Ashido. Sparks thrusted himself with his navel laser a good chunk of the track, but fell short because of his Quirk's drawback, falling behind the pinkette.

Now it was his and Kacchan's turn.

They were both relaxed, making some basic stretches, when _something_ started nagging Izuku. It was a feeling, nothing big, that crept up from the back of his neck. "Deku." He turned to the explodo-blonde, that was looking at him weirdly. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Probably just hungry."

Bakugo rolled his eyes to his friend's basic train of thought. "Well, get into position. It's almost time."

With that, they both prepared, Bakugo crossing his arms, palms facing outwards, and Izuku backing his right foot, in a personalized running position.

But before he could alter his body, his surroundings faded, and an image appeared on his mind.

 ** _[Everything is black. Nothing but a person can be seen. Their face is shadowed. A clock appears behind them, moving slowly. One second starts. The person stomps the ground, as if they were running in the place. Ten stomps. The second passes, and the person vanishes from sight. It's behind. A trail shows movement. One second. Ten stomps. Speed boost.]_**

 ** _[Soru.]_**

The vision fades as soon as it appears, leaving Izuku blinking, dumbfounded to what it meant. He looked at his legs, questioning himself if he could do what he saw. _'I can't make ten stomps in a second. Not without accessing One for All, and my control over it is not that good yet.'_ So, shaking his head, he went for the safe bet. He let his legs and back lose their physical state, flames flickering where the appendages should be. Bakugo felt that Half n' Half's aura twitched as soon as Izuku changed.

 _"Go!"_ That was the signal to make both teens blast themselves forwards, Bakugo with his explosions, and Deku downright _hovering_ above ground, both reaching the finish line almost at the same time, with Izuku making 4.12 seconds, and Katsuki 4.79. The explosion user didn't mind, knowing well that his friend was stronger than he was, but he couldn't stop the frown that appeared on his face because of Half n' Half's aura.

"Kacchan? What is it?"

"It's the S Class. The dude. As soon as you changed into your fire form, his aura started irradiating shock and _hatred_." Both turned to see Todoroki, who's face didn't betrayed his thoughts and feelings. Points to him for his poker face, but Bakugo could easily feel how the mismatched haired boy truly felt. He sighed.

What a way to start the year.

 _Test Two: Grip strength._

"Aw man! It's the same result that I had in middle school! My Quirk can't help me with this!" Ashido complained, seeing only above 43 kgs. of force, and Kirishima chuckled.

"Bad luck, Ashido! This test it's the chance for me to shine." He hardened his entire forearm, and gripped. The machine beeped. "Ha! 140 kilograms! Beat that!"

His joy didn't last long. Rikido Sato, a buff student, made 237 kgs. right after. But the spotlight was taken by Mezo Shoji, a multiple-armed student, who made easily over _half a ton_ in his device. Midoriya took notice of said results, and he chuckled at one of the strategies. Kaminari Denki, the electricity user, ridged the device with his Quirk. _'Nice one. Not everything is about strength, creativity also applies.'_ Now it was his turn. While OfA could have helped him, he couldn't risk busting his hand. So his natural strength would have to do.

 _BEEP!_

He looked at the result, and smiled. "Better than last year, at least." He had made 355 kgs of force, and while for him it wasn't much, it threw everyone else into a hysterical fit.

"Are you serious!?" Sato reclaimed. "I had to go into a High Sugar Dose to reach my results!! And you did this with your base strength?"

Bakugo, watching the entire class surround Deku, silently prayed for his friend's safety while admiring his own results. _'374 kgs. I'm still physically stronger than Deku. But he's gonna catch up quickly. Before, we had a 50 kgs difference between us, and now it has been reduced to nineteen. He never had the need to put too much effort into his training, as he naturally has an incredible strength. Now that he's actually training, it won't be long before he surpasses me.'_

That didn't bother him. Ever since _that_ incident, he had made himself the promise of conforming with the second place, Izuku needed him as a support. He wasn't a leader; his friend was. But Izuku couldn't do it alone. So he needed to be as strong as he could.

 _Test Three: Sustained sideways jumps._

Probably the most normal of the tests. Both Izuku and Bakugo used similar techniques, using their Quirks to boost their speed. There wasn't really anything worth mentioning. Well, nothing except...

 _BOING! BOING! BOING!_

Izuku will swear to the end of his days, that he _saw_ a giant sweatdrop hanging behind Bakugo's head. They were watching the pipsqueak's - _Minoru Mineta_ \- performance. He had piled the balls that he could pop off his head at each side of the testing field, and he was bouncing off them at an incredible speed.

"So..."

"Don't. Say. Anything. I'll raise his rank to B. He knows what he's doing. But that's it." The blonde's voice came out almost as a _growl_. Izuku wondered what did the short boy had that made Bakugo to be like that.

 _Test Four: Standing long jump._

This test was the one that showed the most amazing results. From Bakugo and his explosions, Tsuyu Asui and her frog-like abilities, to Sparks and his navel laser, and Ponytail creating spring heeled boots. _'A creation Quirk! That's an amazing ability! I wonder what's her limiter?'_ Midoriya had written everything he could in his notebook (that only _God_ knows where he pulled it out from), but there was someone that stood out, due to his... _extreme_ measures. He thanked his Quirk's heat aspect, because otherwise, he would be shivering.

Todoroki, in his turn, instead of just jumping, he created a massive ice arch to boost his distance, making the temperature drop several degrees. Not only that, Izuku was sure that the glare he directed in his direction at the moment he fell, was directed to him specifically. He just shrugged it off. He hadn't done anything against him to piss him off, after all.

Now was his turn.

 _'Piece of cake.'_ But once again, before he could do anything, the same feeling he had before returned. Now knowing that a vision would come, he closed his eyes, letting his surroundings fade.

 ** _[Blackness again. Another person stands there, their face shadowed. They jump. And in the middle of the jump, they step, or rather kick, the air below, extending the distance. Repeating the process, they keep on going. Kick the air with enough strength after jumping to fly.]_**

 ** _[Geppou.]_**

After the vision ended, Deku opened his eyes, and frowned. He wasn't sure, again, that he could perform the technique he just envisioned. But while not now, in a not so distant future, maybe he could. So, he just made what he knew he could do. A simple jump extended with his trusty fire change, simple but useful.

He was doing great so far, but he wanted to do _more_. He couldn't conform with just doing great. He had to do _awesome_. So he nodded to himself.

The next test, he would use One for All.

 _Test Five: Softball Pitch._

No matter how good you were, Uraraka was, undoubtedly, the ruler of this test.

 _"She got Infinity!?"_

Aizawa just wanted to go back to sleep, yet they still were three more tests after this one, and he tried to run it as fast as possible, also postponing Midoriya's turn for as long as he could. After witnessing his performance at the Entrance Exam, he could tell he wouldn't be very fond of the fire kid. He would be responsible for every bit of destruction caused by the greenete, and paperwork was the _worst thing in the world._ But it was finally his turn. So, sighing, he prepared his eye drops, ready to cancel the destructive Quirk. "Midoriya, you're up."

Deku was already inside the circle, running all the possible outcomes of his decision. This was the last chance he would have to use One for All in the day, yet if he did it, his next performances would falter because of his broken arm. _'Still'_ he steeled himself, _'I need to show everyone what I'm capable of. That I have the power to protect.'_

With that settled, he channeled OfA through his right arm, and prepared his throw. Aizawa sighed. _'As I thought. He's going to throw away everything in this. What a waste. He had shown potential.'_ He locked eyes in the young man, activating his Quirk, ignoring the surprised look that flashed through Bakugo's face at that moment.

He expected Midoriya to make a lame toss.

Not to totally freeze mid-swing. _'Huh?'_

Just a few seconds before, Midoriya was about to make an all-out pitch, when, without warning, another vision invaded his mind, stopping him.

 ** _[A person stands there, hands behind his back, surrounded by other people that start attacking him. But instead of dodging or countering, a shine crosses his body, and he takes the assault head on without flinching. After that, his posture relaxes, and raises his finger, that shows the same properties his full body had previously, and takes down his assailants by piercing them with his iron-hard finger. Clench your muscles for defense; apply the same only in your finger for offense.]_**

 ** _[Tekkai and Shigan.]_**

Returning to reality, Izuku blinked several times to get rid of the stupor. Why would he see that? Those powers seemed really useful, yeah, but not in this situation. The defensive one downright rendered him immobile, and the poking attack was too gruesome for his tastes. So what was th-

 ** _(A/N: Recommended soundtrack: Run Away, One Piece Ost.)_**

 _'Ohhh'_ Izuku's eyes widened at his realization. It wasn't the techniques, it was the _application!_ He looked at his hand, ignoring the murmuring occurring behind him. He could apply the same bases with One for All, focusing all the power just in his finger. Grinning, he got ready for a second attempt.

Everyone saw Izuku assume a pitching position, his index finger glowing, and burning white. Deku moved, and everything went to hell. **_"Nova Smaaaash!!"_** The ball disappeared almost instantly, creating several sonic booms. The most inconspicuous of the teens were blown away by the shockwave, and those that could hold their own, could only gape at the scene.

Midoriya was standing in the middle of a _crater_ , that was a couple feet deep, and several feet wide. His finger was busted, the ground around him was scorched and burning in some patches, and he was grinning like a lunatic. Aizawa, that had fell onto his butt, was sweating profusely, but he was smiling nonetheless. One look at the result only widened his smile.

"A-Aizawa Sensei," Sero Hanta, the Tape Quirk user, someone that could only be described as _plain_ , asked, being the first one capable of recovering the ability to speak, "what is the result?"

"Why don't you see by yourself?" He showed them the measuring device's screen, that read _9.063 meters._

"Holy shit!!"

"Are you serious!?"

"Hahaha, _it's over 9.000!!"_

 _SLAP!_

"Oww..."

Bakugo was the only one serious. While everyone was freaking out, and Round Face and Gla- _Muffler Calves_ were checking on Deku, he was trying to wrap his head around the fact that both auras, Izuku's and Caterpillar's, flared at the moment before the first pitch attempt. Not only that, while watching their teacher's ability in action he managed to deduce just _who_ he was.

And Deku... something wasn't right. He was strong, yeah. But his power instantly spiked to a whole other level when he moved. He is (or _was_ ) sure of Deku's status as an S Class fighter.

Now... he wasn't sure that he could _belong_ to their measuring ranking anymore. He looked at his friend, that was trying to assure the others that a broken finger was nothing, laughing it out.

 _'Just what kind of training did you went trough, nerd?'_

 _Final Test: Endurance Running._

Kaminari Denki was a cool guy. He (according to himself) was charming, funny, and good looking.

He was really proud of his Quirk: _Electricity_. He could use his neuroelectricity as a weapon, creating lightning that he could fire from his body. The cost though, was high. If he drains himself, he'll _short-circuit_. Having no neural network, he cannot process any thoughts. Or, in layman's terms, he _goes dumb._

He knew that he couldn't rely only on his Quirk, but his personality stopped him from getting serious with some form of training. So, instead of getting muscle, he decided to train his agility. He was really good at running, jumping and dodging, and that helped him to pass the Entrance Exam.

However, in his first day of class, he knew he would have to step up his game, if he wanted a chance of staying in U.A. The reason?

"Monsters... they're monsters..."

He lasted a little over ten minutes in the endurance run, but that paled in comparison to the top three students. They were going for the _forty minutes_ of running.

On the left, was the Ice User. He was using his Quirk to keep himself cold, but the physical strain was showing. If he kept going, it was only not to fall behind. So he stoically swallowed his pain.

On the right was the Explosion User, that was sweating like a pig, and was showing clear signs of exhaustion, but every time he started to falter, he looked at the Ice User and scoffed, shrugging the pain aside.

Those two weren't normal, but at least they showed signs of getting tired.

Now the one in the middle...

"Hahaha, c'mon on, you're already tired?"

A few meters ahead of them, laughing and looking _no worse for the fucking wear,_ was Izuku Midoriya, definitely the weirdest of the three. He had yet to break a sweat.

Kaminari took the opportunity and stole a glance to his classmates, that had taken a little break seeing that _those three_ weren't stopping anytime soon. The girls (that he _definitely_ was going to try a get a chance with, because _DAAAMN!)_ were already showing signs of getting quite well, playing with cards that the most, _*ejem, equipped_ of them had made with her Quirk.

The boys, on the other hand, were scattered in different groups. He had spoken with most of them, and knew more or less their names.

Tokoyami, the quiet one named Koda, Shoji and Ojiro had taken the chance to relax under a tree's shadow. Mineta, who shared his excitement regarding their female classmates, was with them, as well as _their teacher_. The poor man had chosen to nap there after half an hour of standing there watching _them_ run and run. Sato, Kirishima and Sero were another group, one that he could tell he wanted to be a part of. They were joking, and seemed to be quite the fun gang. Iida was trying (fruitlessly) to lecture the Monsters about the consequences of overworking the human body, and Aoyama, well...

He was admiring himself in a mirror.

Shaking his head, but with a smile, he took one last look at _them_ , and made his way to the joking group, planning on making a good impression. "Alright! Guys! Those were some good ones, but you'll piss your pants when you hear my material!"

 **xOx**

One hour and a half.

That's how long it took the Monsters to finally give up. So, that meant that it was finally time to see the results, shown in a hologram.

To _no one's_ surprise, Midoriya had came in first place, followed by Bakugo, then Todoroki, Yaoyorozu, and so on, so forth. In last place, _Minoru Mineta_. The kid had a river flowing from his eyes.

"By the way, I was kidding about the expulsion." Aizawa had a shit eating grin on his face, that made a clear contrast with the shock of his students. "It was just a logical ruse to make you push your limits."

 _"WHAAAAT!?"_

"You seriously didn't noticed?" Yaoyorozu asked. "It was obvious..."

"Heh, sure about that, Ponytail?"

Everyone turned to see Bakugo, who, despite his playful tone, was serious. "Because that doesn't sound like something you would do," he said turning to Aizawa, " _Eraserhead_."

Aizawa squinted his eyes in return. "So you know me..."

"Yeah, I recognized you when Deku was going to pitch. I heard that last year, you expelled an _entire year_ because they didn't match your expectations. So tell me - us, all of us -, why aren't you expelling anyone? Why getting back on your word?"

Izuku perked up at that. _'Sometimes you're too observant for your own good, Kacchan...'_ Aizawa had his face shadowed by his hair, so nobody could see his expression. Izuku gulped.

Eraserhead chuckled, and soon enough he was laughing like he just heard the best joke in years. Still chuckling, he approached Izuku, a paper in hand. "Take this Midoriya. Go to the infirmary, and get that finger patched up." He then started to walk away. "And to answer your question, Bakugo, it's because your potential _isn't_ zero. But, I think you already knew that."

 **xOx**

Once in the classroom, Izuku got a glimpse of his future days with Class 1-A, after getting swarmed by questions, praise, and almost getting coped by Ashido, if it weren't for Kirishima grabbing her by the scruff of her uniform with a "Stop, Ashido, don't start..."

But none of that mattered. He only wanted to do one thing. So he walked straight to Todoroki, who just looked at him with a raised brow.

"We're going to be friends!"

"...what."

"You heard me! You've been giving me odd looks all day, and I know I didn't do anything to you, so I decided that we'll be friends so you can stop."

"I'm not here to make friends."

"Well too bad. I already made my mind."

Todoroki's nonchalance was starting to falter, if his twitching eyebrow was any indication. "That's not how it works. I've refused your request."

"Well, I refuse your refusal!"

The class was wishing they had popcorn for the show. Bakugo, Kirishima, Sero, Uraraka and a few others couldn't even hold the laughs. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on what you thought) the bell rang, indicating the end of class.

Bakugo and Midoriya were leaving the school, when a girl's voice called them.

"Wait, Deku-kun, Kacchan!"

They turned to see Uraraka running to them, though Bakugo was a little outputted. _'Kacchan?'_

"Uraraka-san! What's the matter?"

"Are you guys going to the station?"

"Yeah."

"Oi..."

"Ah! Midoriya, Uraraka, Bakugo! I take you're heading towards the train station! May I come as well?"

"Iida! Sure!"

"Oi!"

"So! What do you guys think of our first day of school?"

"It was great! Though the teacher scares me a little..."

 _SNAP!_

"OH FOR FUCKS SAKE! WOULD YOU _SHUT UP!?"_

The three students turned to see Bakugo raging at them. Well, just Iida and Uraraka. Midoriya was biting his lower lip, trying very hard not to laugh.

"YOU!" The angered teen said, pointing at Uraraka, "JUST WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE!? WE," he said pointing back and forth between him and Izuku, "HAVE NAMES YA KNOW!?"

"Uh, yeah, I know. You're Kacchan Bakugo, right? And he's Deku Midoriya."

The answer she got in return was a deadpan stare, and a chuckle. "Um, so-sorry, Uraraka-san, but _those_ are our nicknames, hehehe. His name is Katsuki, Kacchan it's what I've been calling him since we were kids..."

Ochako had the grace of blush in embarrassment. "Oh..."

"The same's with 'im." Bakugo added. "Name's Izuku, not _Deku_ , that, by the way, is _my_ nickname to him. You haven't earned the right to call him like that."

"Actually, I've been prying to ask," Iida intervened, "but doesn't Deku translates as, and excuse me if I'm mistaken, _useless_? If you two are friends, why use such a despective way to refer to him?"

The two childhood friends shared a look, and smiled softly.

"Yeah, at first it used to mean that." Izuku told them, and his faraway look told them that there was _something_ else there. "But, time passes, and stuff happens, you know? Now, well, Deku is no longer something that hurts me..."

 _"It's who I am."_

The ambient was solemn as the four friends kept walking, a comfortable silence surrounding them.

"You know, Deku-kun," Uraraka suddenly said, ignoring Bakugo's indignant remarks about the naming, "your nickname sounds really similar to _dekiru_ , and gives me a vibe of _'you can do it'_ or _'never gives up'._.."

Both childhood friends turned to each other, then at Uraraka, and back at themselves, and grinned broadly, talking at the same time. _"How come we never saw it like that?"_

"It really goes with you, ne, _Deku_?" Bakugo taunted his friend, grabbing him in a headlock, and nooging him. "'Cause let's face it, doesn't matter what you do, you just _don't give up,_ right?"

"...plus, it sounds cute to me." She added with a giggle.

The two froze, and Bakugo grinned mischievously while looking at Midoriya, who had a luminescent blush covering his face.

"...sh-shut up, Kacchan."

"What? I didn't said shit... _Deku_." He ended with a high pitched, fake-girly voice.

Iida couldn't help but to laugh at these people's antiques. _'Ah brother, you once told me that I should relax more. Perhaps... with friends like this... I can do it.'_ He looked forward with a smile, an expression way more calm that his regular stoic, no-nonsense face.

 _'Just wait. I will become a proper man, one befitting of the name Ingenium.'_

 **xOx**

Omake: Meanwhile... _(set during Izuku's softball pitch)_

A young man, in his early twenties, was walking through the streets, while checking his cellphone. He was wearing black and white sneakers, black jogging pants, a red windbreaker with black neck and sleeves, and a grey cap. He had some unkempt stubble and bags under his eyes, that spoke of many all-nighters. On his back, he had a green and grey camo-patterned backpack.

He looked up from his phone for a second, and then did a double take, checking his surroundings. " _Que caraj..._ Where the hell am I? This isn't my neighborhood..."

Taking a closer look at the people, he paled. "I think this isn't even the same _continent_..." He facepalmed. " _Mierda_ , bro, I told you that my lightning-teleportation trick WASN'T polished." Looking at the sky in exasperation, he saw a shadow above him. "Uh, _y eso?"_

 _BONK!_

He opened his eyes groggily, his head pounding. "Ugh, _hijo de la gran..._ that hurt..." he got up, and saw what had hit him. " _Una pelota? Genial_. The boys are gonna love this... if I manage to go back home..." He grabbed the ball, and put it in his backpack.

He took his phone, dialed a number, and waited until someone picked up on the other side of the line. " _Hola vieja... si mira, tuve un problema... si... si... mira, no se_ cuando _voy a poder volver. Así que, empezá el mate, y no me esperes. Y decile a_ él _, que cuando vuelva, que mejor que no me lo cruce... si... si... chau."_

He ended the call, and sighed. He cracked his neck a few times, and light blue electricity started surrounding him. "Welp, I came here one way, I'll go that way... _con suerte..."_

His body tensed, and a lightning stroke despite the clear day, and he was gone.

~CDS~

 ** _*Achievement Unlocked: A la Stan Lee!* (make yourself appear at least once in your own story) Exp won: 500 writing points!_**

 ** _Yeah, yeah, I know, that was lame. But I wanted to do it anyway! Does that count as a Self-Insert?_**

 ** _Well, I have news. Today's my birthday! 21... I feel old. At least for this._**

 ** _Please review and tell me what you thought about today's chapter!_**

 ** _Read ya._**


	6. Burst the Bubble! Real life hurts

_**Heya guys (and gals...? Huh, I wonder if there's any female readers here...), CDS here, bringing you another chapter of Hiken no Deku!**_ _ **The previous chapter received a lot of good response, so I know that something I'm doing right. Wonder what.**_

 _ **I want to apologize for the last chapter's ending. I know that that Omake came as a bit of a non sequitur, and probably left some people scratching their heads. Just don't. It wasn't anything canon, so just ignore it.**_

 _ **As you might see, I changed the cover. Searching throughout Google Images for the right one... the things I've seen... I don't think I will be able to forget it... The thing is, I found an image that perfectly reflected the kind of relationship, as well as the role that the two main characters have here.**_

 _ **Now going with this chapter. You'll finally get to see what I have planned for our protagonists. Bakugo will get a lot of screen time here, because while I prefer Izuku as a character, I find myself having an easier time relating to him. We are kinda similar**_.

 _ **And just so you know, I don't (and/or will) make certain changes on things or events just because "it's cooler that way." Have in mind that everything I do has a reason.**_

~CDS~

 _"Come on, Kacchan! Catch it!"_

 _"Got it!"_

 _They were in a park. Izuku's seventh birthday had been a few months ago, and it had been almost a year since his sudden Quirk sprout. They were playing with a frisbee, having as much fun as they could._

 _Bakugo, while a little mellowed out, was still acting a little distant with the broccoli head. He was actually trying to be a better friend, but every time he looked at Deku, he could only see his former punching bag. He closed his eyes, and shook his head._

 _Not. The time._

 _Forcing a smile, he kept playing. It was ok now. They were friends. They were_ equals.

 _His smile banished. Equals. Had he really been beating the shit out of the kid in front of him just because he didn't had a Quirk? Just what kind of ass was he? What was he trying to pretend to be now? He didn't change. He still is the same prick that has those moments when all he wants it's to beat his "friend" because he knows he's better. But something stops him every time._

 _Ugh. Guilt. Annoying piece of shit._

 _"Kacchan?"_

 _He awoke from his slumber to the sound of his friend's concerned voice. He had been staring at the frisbee for roughly five minutes with a frown. He had to amend his mistakes. He was the cause of Deku's problems, and what was all he did to rectify? Just a little, half-assed "I'm sorry" the same moment the other awoke his Quirk?_

 _Ha. So much for the Great Bakugo._

 _"Hum... hey, Deku... look. I-"_

 _"HELP ME! PLEASE, ANYONE!!"_

 _Both friends looked at each other, nodded, and ran in the general direction of the call. For what they heard, it could only belong to someone their age. And it was. He probably was only a year younger than them, and was being mercilessly kicked by some older kids, curled up against a tree. When they split them, and asked why they were ganging up on the younger, Bakugo froze._

 _They were attacking him because he was Quirkless._

 _Bakugo's mind shut down, just for a second, and saw himself and the dumbasses that were his goons reflected in the bullies, and a defenseless Izuku in the poor kid. Then, his temper exploded._

 _So did his palms._

 _When the older ones ran away crying, and the little guy thanked them, (and they made sure that he wasn't beaten too bad), Bakugo slumped against that same tree, and sighed._

 _He really had been some nasty shit._

 _He saw the monster his ex-target used to (and perhaps still) see in him._

 _He didn't like it. At all._

 _"Kacchan, what is it?"_

 _"Nothing, Deku. Nothing."_

 _"That's a lie."_

 _"I know."_

 _A few seconds of silence..._

 _"What did you wanted to say before this?"_

 _"O-Oh, that?" Damn. He appreciated that Deku was trying to change the subject, as he could read him like an open book. But of all possible topics, he had to pick that one? He couldn't face it now. Think... think... aha! "I wanted to know if you had any new tricks with your Quirk."_

 _Izuku smiled. "Actually, yeah! Last night I dreamed of something! And it works, look!" He waved his hand around, and fire sprouted around him. "I call it **Enkai**. Cool right?"_

 _Bakugo nodded smirking. "Yeah, really cool." But his smirk quickly turned into a scowl, and then into a panicked expression. The fire wasn't diminishing, it was_ growing. _"D-Deku, you can stop now." But his friend wasn't listening to him. He was just smiling, as if nothing were happening. And the fire kept growing. It was so close, he had to cover his eyes._

 _Suddenly, they weren't in the park anymore. They were at_ that _place. And Deku was carrying him by the shoulder. And he was crying. He tried to reach out to him, but a sudden pain in his back stopped him._

 _The smell of burning flesh reached his nostrils. The place was falling apart, the structure weakened by the fire._

 _"Hold on, Kacchan, please..." Deku sobbed. "Don't leave me... not you too..."_

 _'No... not again...'_

 _'No...'_

 _'NO...'_

 _ **'NO!!'**_

 **xOx**

Bakugo, startled, woke up, gasping for breath. He was sweating buckets, and he could feel that he almost activated his Quirk. A quick scan of his surroundings assured him that he was in his bedroom, not _there_. So, taking a second to relax, he slumped back into his bed.

Fuck. A nightmare.

No.

A _memory_.

Damn it. How long had it been since the last one? Three months? He had been doing so well... he massaged his face to try to get rid of his nervousness, and looked at his hands.

They were shaking. He glared at them.

 _'Stop it.'_

He closed them into a fist, hoping it would stop the shaking. When it didn't, he chose to vent his frustration by punching the metal-reinforced wall at his side. He left a nice indentation into it. _Again._

His back hurt, as usual. He reached and tried to caressed it, but a surge of pain stopped him. He shook his head. There was no way he was going back to sleep again. He reached for his phone, and looked at the hour.

 _4:37 a.m_.

For a moment, he considered. _'Should I? He's probably asleep right now...'_ He shouldn't bother him with something as petty as this. It was just a nightmare.

But it wasn't.

 _'Fuck it.'_

He unlocked his phone, typed the message, and left his thumb hovering above the _send_ option. ' _Last chance to go back.'_ He sent the message.

 **Blasting Perma-Frown:** _Deku, you up?_

He frowned. He _still_ wasn't satisfied with the alias his friend had put to him on their chatting. No matter how accurate it was. He left the phone on the nightstand, and closed his eyes.

It had started as a good memory. Not a pleasant one. A good one. It was then that he had started to realize just how wrong he had been those past years. But, from what he could remember, after that point, everything went downhill. Yeah, they were in great terms now, probably in _the best terms_ , but all the shit they had to go through to be where they are now... it almost wasn't worth it. _Almost_. Back then, the universe wouldn't let him take the easy route to start amending his relationship with Deku. No. Of course it would force them to-

 _PING!_

Deku had answered, quickly cutting his train of thought. Had he been up too? _'Nah. He just answers fast.'_ Bakugo took a moment to consider what he just did. Was he discussing with himself right now? _'Just what I needed. I'm going bat-shit crazy.'_ He grabbed his phone.

 **Walking Brocco-** **Grill:** _What's up, Kacchan?_

 **Blasting Perma-Frown:** _Can we meet at the park?_

The next answer took a little longer.

 **Walking Brocco-Grill:** _I'm on my way._

Bakugo mentally thanked his friend for putting up with him. So, with that, he got dressed, and jumped out the window, landing carefully as to not make any noise, and made his way to the park.

 **xOx**

Izuku was already at the park, and he was anxious. He had a backpack with him, already knowing why he was there. When Bakugo's message woke him up, he sent a quick reply, still half asleep, but when he saw why Bakugo had texted him, he instantly shook his sleepiness away. There was only one reason why Bakugo would ask to meet him there.

He was having nightmares again.

Izuku mentally kicked himself for being so inattentive all those months that he had been training with All Might. Bakugo only counted on him, and he (inadvertently) pushed him aside. It was their second day of school, and he was already ignoring the blonde's situation, even being the _only one_ that knows about it. He sighed.

So much for being his best friend.

He was sitting against a tree when he saw Bakugo walking in his direction. He said nothing as he sat next to him, and for a few minutes, they just stood there, in silence. And before it could get awkward, Izuku reached for his backpack, and pulled out what was inside.

"Mom made curry last night, and made so much that there was some left. Here, I heated it up. In the microwave, before you say anything."

"Thanks, Izuku." Bakugo said as he grabbed the Tupperware, and slowly ate it's content, and Izuku winced. He called him by his _name_. That only made him feel worse. At least, he had his mother's food.

Inko's cooking was something otherworldly. Given who her son was, she could only be good at cooking. Well, not good. _Great_. And her food, Izuku discovered, was the only thing that could make Bakugo relax after one of his attacks. When he finished, Bakugo looked a _lot_ less tense, and more willing to talk.

"So..."

Bakugo nodded. "It started normally. It was the day we met the _Quirkless_ kid. The day you first showed me your _Enkai_ , remember?" Izuku nodded in remembrance. Of course he remembered. Bakugo snapped _epically_ when they heard the motive of the attack. He motioned him to continue. "Well, after you used that technique, the fire kept growing, and it blinded me, and suddenly we were running away from _there_."

Izuku didn't need any specifications. He knew well where 'there' was. That was it. Aside from letting Bakugo vent, there wasn't anything else he could do. But, according to the blonde, that was all he needed. Just to let it out. But for Izuku, it still felt like it wasn't enough.

"I'm sorry, Kacchan."

Bakugo just raised his brow. _'What for?'_

"For not being there the following months after the Sludge Villain attack. I secluded myself in my training, just focusing on getting stronger, and I left you aside. I'm your only way of dealing with your nightmares, and I ignored you. Sorry."

Bakugo shook his head. "It's alright, Deku. It's the first one in months, and the ones I've had weren't even that intense. Besides, it's not like you were actively trying to avoid me, right?" Izuku just shrugged, and nodded.

Bakugo couldn't help but to chuckle. Why was Deku apologizing? He hadn't done anything wrong. He just wanted to be better, that's it; he better than anyone understood that. It was nothing if you compared it with everything he'd done. What had Bakugo done to deserve a friend like Deku? In fact, _he_ should be apologizing for what he was doing. But he wasn't. Hell, he didn't even...

Wait. He _never_ actually apologized for everything he'd make Deku go through, didn't he? His expression must have betrayed him, because Izuku made him a question that gave him a weird sense of deja vu.

"Kacchan, what is it?"

 _Fuck_.

"Nothing, Deku. Nothing."

"...That's a lie."

"I know."

Midoriya had his suspicions about why Bakugo was acting this way. He wasn't Bakugo, he couldn't feel people's auras and read their feelings like he could, but he knew his friend, and he he could act based on years of knowledge.

"You're not _that_ you anymore, Katsuki. I don't feel scared. Don't beat yourself up for it, it's in the past; you changed. We're friends, we've been friends for years now, even if we had kind of a rocky start, and we'll be friends for a long time, I'll make sure of it. You'll be stuck with me, even if you don't want to." He finished with a playful nudge.

As always, the right freaking words. Bakugo rested his head against the trunk, and, with a deep breath, let a calm smile appear on his face.

"I... thanks. I really needed that."

 **xOx**

For another hour or so they stayed there, discussing about that day's classes, like for example that one of the classes was going to be Heroic Training, and both agreed that they were really expecting to participate in that one. Quickly agreeing that they needed, if not sleep, at least rest a little bit more, they decided to go.

That same day at school, they met with what they dubbed "the Crew", that was definitely going to expand once that the rest of them grew up in power later on. The first half of the class was really boring, all things considered, even if they were having English with _Present Mic_ and his enthusiastic ways of teaching.

Due to their... _impromptu_ early morning stroll, Deku and Kacchan decided to skip lunch for the day, using that time for a quick nap. Using Bakugo's sensing to find Aizawa Sensei, and having them fast talking him to nap all together (that involved a rapid discussion between the Explosion User and the Eraser Hero about _sleeping bags_ ) in the classroom, the three shared half an hour of relative peace.

They didn't have to know about Nemuri and Hizashi taking pictures of them.

Two minutes before the lunch break ended, Aizawa woke up his students and told them that, while probably not the most orthodox method, they made the right choice for recovering their energies, because their next class was going to be a demanding one.

"Heroic Training Class... it's gonna be hell this year." He told them while leaving, sounding mildly annoyed for some reason.

To not get hungry later, they ate some of Izuku's Super-Proteinic bars, Bakugo eating normally as opposed to his glutton of a friend. That's how the class found them; Bakugo eating with his feet on top of his desk (much to Iida's chagrin), and Midoriya -apparently- just checking on his notes. But what most missed, Uraraka actually noticed: several wrappings coming out Midoriya's backpack. She nudged Kirishima, who was amicably chatting with Kaminari, and pointed him the wraps. The redhead paled considerably (much to the blonde's confusion) when he remembered just _how much_ food those bars put up for.

What kind of stomach does Midoriya have?

Their next class was going to start soon, so those questions would have to come up later. Everyone took seat, and chatted amongst themselves, so engrossed that they didn't noticed Bakugo tensing furiously. Midoriya, of course, did noticed, and got extremely nervous. With his ability to sense people, Bakugo had mastered the art of acting. He was a boisterous person by nature, a trait that wouldn't ever change. Izuku was one of the few that knew his most calmer, more stoic, sometimes even joyful side. To the rest of the world, he would act normally; when in front of someone above the average, the most emotion he would show would be _sweating_. But getting _this_ reaction? There was only one reason.

Someone _really strong_ was coming. Midoriya gulped, and tensed.

 _ **"I am..."**_

Those words made Izuku go from nervous, to surprised, to excited in the span of _three seconds._

 _ **"COMING THROUGH THE DOOR... LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!"**_

All Might, in all his glory, was there. He really was a teacher at U.A! Everyone was thrilled, commenting on his 'Silver Age Costume' and how he looked so different in person. Izuku was practically vibrating on his seat. Yeah, he had met the Pro before (not that anybody had to know), but still.

He was a _hardcore fan._ And he was his teacher at U.A!!!

Ok... ok... he was bursting again. _Breath_.

Meanwhile, Bakugo was thanking the heavens that All Might was on the side of good. It was expected of The World's Greatest Hero to have a big power. But _this_? It was practically ridiculous. _'It can't be... can it? We discussed the possibility with Deku, but... no._ That _was just a "what if? scenario" we included just to cover all bases. It's impossible for someone to be stronger than an S Class... right?... right?'_ That wasn't the only thing that was bothering him. As far as he knew, he had never met with All Might before.

 _Yet his aura felt strangely familiar._

 _ **"Ok, everyone! Foundational Hero Studies! We'll be teaching you the ways of Heroism trough various trials!!"**_ His boisterous voice and heroic poses made everyone even more excited that they were before. Luckily for All Might, that overshadowed the fact that he was _nervous as fuck_ , because he knew that he didn't had the normal mindset of a teacher. He really didn't wanted to screw up. _**"Let's jump right in with this!! With BATTLE TRIALS!!"**_

" _Battle Trials?"_

"And, to go with your first battle..." All Might pressed a tiny remote that opened some slots in the leftmost (from the students side) wall. "We've prepared your gear, that you've requested before getting in! After all, what's a Hero without..."

 _ **"Our HERO COSTUMES!!"**_ Absolutely _everyone_ shouted, some with more enthusiasm than others, like the Entrance Exam's Top Three downright slamming their palms/fists on their tables, to Todoroki and Tokoyami barely (but definitely) grinning. Once everyone got their suitcases, All Might told them to go change and meet him later at _Training Ground Beta._

Just when everyone was starting to get up, Bakugo suddenly spoke. "Oi, Deku." The alluded turned, asking what was the matter. "All Might is here." Bakugo smirked while nodding in the Pro's direction, like if he knew something. "Are you seriously going to let this opportunity pass?"

Izuku was confused, so he kept looking between All Might and his friend, trying to figure just what Bakugo meant. When he realized, his slightly confused expression turned into a joyful one, though with a more devious tone than usual, and he thanked Bakugo with a high five. With his newfound plan, he approached All Might, with obvious but still unknown intentions. This took the attention of the rest of the 1-A class, that, curious, stopped to see what would come out from all this.

Everyone saw the Flame User whisper something to the older one, who who nodded. Izuku looked down, and when he raised his head, All Might looked between disturbed, amazed and wanting to laugh at loud.

"Hey, everyone. You better not miss this." Everybody looked at Bakugo, who _was recording everything with his phone?_

 _'What?'_

 _ **"It's alright!!"**_ The sound of All Might's catchphrase took the attention of the class, and they saw both the Super Strength User and the Fire Kid standing one in front of the other, both in a heroic pose and looking down. " _ **Why? Because**_ _ **we are here!!"**_ When they raised their faces, the _entire_ classroom (no exceptions this time) burst out laughing. The majority of the students were doubled over their tables, and some, like Kaminari and Sero had _slammed_ their faces on them. Even Bakugo was having a hard time keeping the video mostly still.That event was enough to lift the mood and had everyone smiling while they got ready.

Meanwhile, Izuku had returned to his buddy's side, and was watching the recording, both of them laughing to the point of tears. The reason? The video showed that Midoriya had his face scrunched in a way that virtually it _wasn't_ his face anymore.

He looked exactly like All Might.

 **xOx**

Everyone had very good costumes. Deku had a little trouble getting into his, so he ended up getting last in the grounds, but that only helped him in getting dramatic effect. He sprinted a little distance, and came out the tunnel walking, slowly showing his Hero Costume to everyone.

He was wearing a seemingly sturdy, dark green track suit with black details, under a long coat of similar fashion. The suit had a hood that played the part of mask, while a diamond-shaped metal mouthpiece covered the lower half of his face, with four holes that let Izuku breath. Thick, white gloves covered his hands, and his trademark red shoes were replaced with combat boots that looked _suspiciously similar_ to his favorite footwear. Decorating the back of his coat, was an image. It was a smiley face, with six, T-shaped sprouts coming from all around it. _**(A/N: For references, it's the Heart Pirates logo)**_ There were two small sprouts on top of the hood, that, in a way, looked like _animal ears_ , contrasting with the otherwise imposing design.

While there were some impressive designs, like Iida's modern knight one, Izuku's gear screamed one thing.

 _The leader has arrived._

"Deku-kun? Is that you? That outfit looks so cool!" Uraraka had approached the green haired boy, with Kirishima and Bakugo tailing behind. When he looked at her, he did a double take, taking in her costume. It took all his willpower not to to start rambling, because while seeing her, only one word came to his mind, and he accidentally whispered it out.

"Marshmallows..."

"Whadja say, Midoriya?" Kirishima asked, quite amused because he had heard that little whisper, and he had to agree with him, but it would be unmanly to laugh. That wouldn't stop him from messing with him, though. Bakugo on the other hand, had no such restrictions and was barking with laughter.

"Uh? No-nothing!" He quickly denied. "I was just saying that her costume also looks really cool!" He said removing his mask, and he smiled at them, though the smile itself was a bit shaky.

"You think so? Hehe, I believe I should have been more specific on my design sketch... my suit came out a bit puffy..." She said scratching the back of her head, making Izuku and Kirishima squint their faces and cover their eyes because _holy cow that was adorable._

Bakugo, meanwhile, was trying to remember a day, any day, that had him having as much fun as today. His classmates reactions were _priceless_ , and he would make sure to exploit that to the maximum.

Izuku was about to tell Katsuki if he was hallucinating or if he too could see the glow that their female friend emitted, when he took notice of his friend's suit. At plain sight, it was the same he had see him sketch during their free time; the mask, the grenade belt _-he really has to be careful with those-,_ the gauntlets; only one thing was different. Instead of a sleeveless tank top, it was a short sleeved T-shirt.

 _'Subtle. I guess you did considered those in the design, after all.'_ For just a second, they made eye contact, and talked without actually saying anything. When All Might called everyone to gather, the two just nodded and joined the rest.

The teacher explained that they would be split into random pairs, and that each pair would be either a villain or a hero team, with the villains having to protect a "bomb", while the heroes would have to either secure the bomb, or immobilize the villains. Deku ended paired with Uraraka, as team A. Bakugo, he ended with Iida, as team D.

And team A, as heroes, would have to face team D, who were the villains.

Both friends looked at each other. _'We'll have to fight each other?'_ Before the "villains" had to enter the building, Izuku approached Bakugo, and, both smirking, fistbumped. "It's been too long since we last fought. _May the best win!"_

 **xOx**

Izuku was nervous. He had already memorized the blueprints, but that wasn't the issue.

"We're up against Kacchan..."

"Hm, Deku-kun?" Uraraka quickly noticed the nervousness in her friend. His body was shaking, and since he had removed his mask, she could see him sweating. "Are you scared? Or don't you want to fight against Bakugo? You've been long time friends, right?"

He shook his head. "No, it's not that. Well, not entirely." He elaborated at Uraraka's curious -and slightly confused- expression. "Yeah, the fact that we've known each other for years bothers me a little, but it's not reluctance to fight. We have sparred in the past. The thing is, since we _know_ how we fight, how we think -and trust me, Kacchan may not look like it, but he's a _genius_ ; he's probably smarter than me- there's little we can do now. He's already planned some way to counter every plan I can conceive, and I'm sure he's probably commanding Iida to secure the bomb." Curiously enough, instead of sounding more and more nervous, he sounded more _confident_ , to the point that his shaking had stopped. "But all that is ok. I can manage that. The real problem is his _sensing power_."

"Now that you mention it, I heard yesterday that you guys said something about _auras_ , I think it was the word?" Izuku nodded. "How's that work? Does he have two Quirks?"

"No... it's different than a Quirk. It's more like a sixth sense. You see, there was this time..." he dragged along, but didn't said anything else, his face contorting into a grimace. He shook his head. "Not now. You're not ready yet." He said, further confusing his female companion, and worrying her with his stern and pained expression. What had happened that was related to Bakugo's power that was so painful? "Let's focus on this. With his power, we can throw stealth out the window. And he knows I know he knows. But... I have a trump card, something that we can plan around, and I'm sure it won't fail." He smirked, letting Uraraka know that he had a plan.

"What? What is it?" She asked eagerly.

"The fact that I know Kacchan a little _too well_."

 **xOx**

"Are you ready, Muffler Calves? There's only one more minute or so before this shit starts, and everything has to be ready."

"I reiterate you, Bakugo, that you call me Iida, please; and yes, the preparations are ready."

The villains had, after a suggestion from Bakugo's part, cleaned the entire floor, having into consideration Uraraka's Quirk. "I must say, Bakugo, that while I'm not happy with having to play the part of a villain, I am quite confident in our victory." Iida commented, while reviewing the plan his teammate had came up with. "Having covered everything, even some possible outcomes, as well as delivering roles to maximize our advantage, I must admit that I'm impressed. I didn't knew you had such an analytical mindset."

"What can I say, Glasses," the explosive teen snarked, chuckling internally at the Runner's twitching eye, more surely than not a response to the use of yet another nickname, "you can't just blast your way trough everything. Paying attention to details to create a plan is necessary for survival. If you know what you're against, you have better chances of being in the winning side. But," and his snark disappeared, "remember, this time we're facing Deku, who also has the same way of thinking. As I already told you while planning, Deku is a natural strategist, and has several plans ready, most of which I can visualize, being there helping him develop them. But his _forte_ is actually his ability to plan in the moment, turning him into a rather unpredictable fighter. That's why I chose this way to face them."

Iida was amazed, but before he could vocalize his amazement, All Might's voice announced the start of the activity. "It's time, Bakugo. I'm ready. Initiate?"

 _"Hell yes."_

Meanwhile, in the first floor, the Hero team was silently walking through the hallways, Izuku quietly explaining his teammate about the range Bakugo's power worked within, suddenly going in a muttering tangent about the numerous experiments the two of them had run to measure said range, making Uraraka giggle at the goofiness of his friend. Izuku froze, embarrassed of getting derailed like that, making Uraraka walk past him.

Later that same day, Uraraka wouldn't remember clearly what happened at that moment. She was walking past a stunned Deku when, suddenly, from around the corner, Bakugo came _flying_ , his right palm aiming directly at her face. Then, out of nowhere, all she could see was a cartoonish smiley face. In less time than she could react, Izuku had gotten in front of her, and had countered Bakugo's attack with his own punch, leaving them in a stalemate.

"Uraraka-san!" Deku's shout brought her back. She saw him looking back at her, while struggling with Bakugo. "Go, now! Remember what we talked about!"

She quickly recovered and nodded, running past the battling friends. _'He really came. It's just like Deku-kun predicted.'_

Flashback

 _"No matter how much Kacchan tries, how much he controls himself, at the end of the day, he still has one core flaw. The battlefield calls him, he enjoys the thrill of a good fight; he won't let pass the chance of getting one. And he knows I can give him one. That's what I'm counting on."_

End Flashback

Uraraka smiled in amazement. "You are really cool, Deku-kun!"

Back with the two fighters, they were still struggling to get the other to back away. "You've definitely gotten stronger, Deku. I'm having a hard time keeping you at bay here." By what Izuku could see, he was right, and Bakugo was enjoying himself. "A couple months back, it would have been easier for me to push you back!"

Izuku didn't respond, he just kept pushing, trying to win the brawl. He then attempted to kick Bakugo in the middle area, effectively forcing him to jump back to dodge. Point for Izuku. Both, with more room now, got into their battle stances.

In the control room, the rest of the class was watching them trough a monitor, and Ojiro let out a appreciative whistle, catching the attention of the others.

"What is it, Ojiro-san?"

"Their battle stances." The martial artist responded. "I've been training for years, and learned several fighting styles, yet I can see that none of them would work against them. They just... don't have any openings. I wonder what training did they have."

"Well, I don't know about that Bakugo dude," Kirishima suddenly spoke up, redirecting the attention to him, "but I know what Midoriya is capable of. Some of his abilities are sick, he's super strong. And if I remember correctly, yesterday, when we introduced each other, Midoriya said that he and Bakugo were head to head in terms of power."

That erupted a series of murmurs, and All Might was listening to his students discuss when his intercom went off.

 _"All Might-Sensei?"_

"What is it, Young Bakugo?"

 _"We're being watched right now, am I right?"_

' _Where are you going with this, young man?'_ The pro suspected. "Yes, indeed. Actually the rest of the class is discussing about you two. And to answer your next question, only I can hear you."

 _"Heh, perfect."_ He cut the transmission.

All Might directed his sight to the transmission, where the top students where standing still in front of each other. They weren't talking, but All Might knew that they were communicating. _'You two are full of surprises. What are you planning?'_

Back with the aforementioned, Izuku tilted his head. Katsuki had been talking to All Might, and when he closed the communication, and gave him a _look_. A look that Midoriya knew very well. He could practically hear his friend's thoughts.

' _Really?'_

 _'We're being watched, and the entire class is there. So, I think, yeah, now. It's time to let them have a taste of what the real world looks like. Leaving a couple aside, none of them knows the real danger that the world presents. They have to open their eyes, leave those bubbles they live in.'_

 _'...ok.'_

Bakugo was the first to move, launching himself at Deku, throwing a right hook that his opponent easily dodged, and subsequently countered, but Bakugo also dodged Midoriya's punch, and grabbing with both hands the kick that was directed at his stomach, made Izuku spin in the air parallel to the floor. When he fell, he automatically pushed himself up in a full-body jump to dodge Bakugo's own sweeping kick. Back on foot, the two "enemies" launched at each other in a flurry of punches (or palm-strikes, in Bakugo's case) and kicks, that ended in a cross kickback that sent them both back, screeching to a halt.

Class 1-A was left speechless.

All Might was left speechless.

"Holy shit... they're... they're going all out, aren't they? It feels like we're watching a real life "Villain vs. Hero" fight here!"

"Are you blind?"

Everyone turned their faces at Todoroki, who had spoken, and he looked back, his usual _"i-don't-care"_ face unaltered, and his tone as monotone as usual. "Are we watching the same fight? Or am I the only one paying attention?"

 _"Grghug-!"_

Kirishima gritted his teeth, having realized what the Hybrid User meant, and looked back at the screen that showed the two were fighting again, his face a mix of astonishment and awe. "They're... fighting _bare-handed_..."

Todoroki nodded in confirmation, also looking back at the duel. "That's right. None of them have used their Quirks. _Not even once._ "

Bakugo managed to land a strike on Midoriya's face, that sent him tumbling backwards. He shook his dizziness away, and looked up at Bakugo, grinning. "Ok, Kacchan. Time to _kick it_ up." With that, he jumped forward, landing on his hands just in front of Bakugo. _'I hope it works!'_ Then, he started spinning, his kicks imbued in fire, a move that forced Bakugo to retreat and cover himself. ' _Now!!'_ He jumped back onto his feet, and threw a left kick at Bakugo's head, that he ducked under. Midoriya didn't loose time, and, in the same move, he leashed out a sweeping kick that Bakugo had to backflip to dodge, leaving him in a very awkward position. Izuku, who was counting on it, instantly capitalized, and keeping the momentum of the previous kick, as if he were an ice skater, he jumped and spun on his axis in a move that made Ashido squeak in excitement, landing a powerful axe kick at Bakugo's unprotected nape. _**"Concasse!!"**_

Bakugo's face got really intimate with the floor. That kick combo was new, and he couldn't predict those attacks, they were just too fast. Unleashing a small blast to make Midoriya retreat, he got up, and, in a hunch, touched his nose. Pain answered back. _'Ugh, broken.'_ Not wanting to waste time, he took some quick, short breaths and rearranged his nose with a sickening _crunch_.

Everyone cringed at the sight, and to those that could, the sound of it. _Ouch_.

"Dammit, Deku. I'll be lucky if I smell nothing but _blood_ for the next week or so!" Despite everything, he was smiling. ' _If we're bringing out the new moves, might as well showcase_ my _training results.'_ He cracked his neck twice, and started to caress his gauntlet, making Izuku raise his guard in response. "I won't explain unnecessary material. You know well how my Quirk works, Deku. But do you know what _these_ ," he knocked his knuckles on the gauntlet, "are for?"

Izuku gulped. "As far as I know, they were only cosmetic; but you wouldn't make such a question if that were the answer, would you?"

"As sharp as always, I see." He snarkly replied. "I actually have to thank you, Deku, for the change these bad boys had." Okay, now Izuku was lost. "I mean, if it weren't for you, I would have probably taken much longer to make these gauntlets to store my sweat. Ah, I see you know what's going on!" Izuku's body language had indeed prepared to counter what would happen, when Bakugo aimed the barrel at him. "You promised to never use _that_ attack after what happened, but I thought ut would be necessary to have a backup, it was to much power to waste. So I searched for a way to replicate it. Back then, I swore I'd be strong to support you. _Time to see if I'm up to the task_."

He released the pin, unleashing a _massive explosion_ , that threatened to destroy everything in it's path. _'God dammit, Kacchan! You'll risk everything in here! I'll have no choice but to parry it with an equal force to cancel it. Be proud, Kacchan; you managed to mechanically reproduce it.'_ With no other choices at hand, he readied his fist, and countered. _**"Hiken!!"**_

Both forces met creating a powerful shockwave that made the whole building tremble. But before any more damage could be done, Izuku absorbed the blast into his own fire. What he didn't expect was that, at the moment he pulled back, Bakugo jumped from amongst the flames, directly at him. _'And it was a trap. Of course. And he got me hook, line and sinker.'_ Izuku thought bitterly. Bakugo put his hands in a position as if he were grabbing an imaginary ball, and released the focused blast right in front of _Izuku's face._ _**"Stun Grenade!!"**_

Izuku backed away with his hands covering his eyes, completely blinded. "GAH!" He tried to open his eyes, but to no avail. His eyes stung too much. Hearing Bakugo getting close, he summoned an _Enkai_ to protect himself, unable to do much else without the risk of overdoing it. Putting his hands in front of him, he started to retreat, trying to put as much distance between him and Bakugo as possible. His intercom went off.

 _"Deku-kun? What was that? Are you ok?"_

"Yeah, Uraraka-san, I'm fine. Well, almost. That tremble was Kacchan's fault."

 _"What do you mean almost? Did he hurt you?"_

Izuku sighed, moving away clumsily. "No, he didn't. It's worse than that. He _blinded me._ "

 _"What!? How are you gonna-"_

"Relax, Uraraka-san. I'm sure it's only temporary. Though I doubt we can win this now... I didn't thought that he would have such technique under his sleeve..."

 _ **'You sure about that, kid?'**_

 _'It's you! What-?'_

 _ **'Look, I've been on the sides for a while now, and I think I can help you now. First, assure that girl that everything's gonna be just fine, and hang up. I need your whole attention.'**_

' _Uh...'_

 _"Deku-kun?"_

Izuku pondered for a second, and he did what that voice told him. He didn't sense any malice in it. _**'Heh, nice job. Now, as I said, I can, and will help you.'**_

 _'How? And how can I call you? Because referring to you as "Mystery Voice" doesn't-'_

' _ **Oh sweet mother of- your ramblings also happen inside your head? Shut up and listen. This thing I'm doing right now? Talking to you? It costs me a shit-ton of energy and effort, so I can only do it so much. Let's not bother with introductions then, because after this, we won't talk for a long time. Ok?'**_ Izuku nodded. ' _ **Ok. And as to how I'm gonna help you, well,**_ **seeing** _**as you're lacking something now, I'll guide you so you can unlock the same power your friend Bakugo has.'**_

 _'What!? Really? His aura sensing?'_

 _ **'Yep, that very same. And it has a name, boy. It's called Observation Haki. You're the reason he was capable of having it, so you obviously have it inside of you. Now, normally this takes months of training, but you are already aware of the basics of it, so let's go with a crash course. First, you need to breath, and clear your mind.'**_

Izuku tried to, but from his side, Bakugo came and blasted him. Gritting his teeth, Izuku countered with a _Kagero_ , and tried to make a run, touching the walls and turning when he felt a corner. _'I-I can't! He's not giving me a break!'_

 _ **'It's not meant to be easy, kid.'**_ The voice stated. _**'Haki can be unlock either with a strict training regimen, or under stressful situations. And you have a trained mind, so I'm forcing you to unlock something you've must have had from years already. Now, focus. Calm your heart, and your mind.'**_

For Izuku it was easier said than done, as his heart has racing like crazy. But, he gave his best, and with a few deep breaths, he had calmed down.

 _ **'Good. Now, you have to reach out with your senses. Hear, and listen.'**_

Izuku sharpened his hearing, trying to block out any sound beyond what he wanted to hear. A few seconds of silence, until...

 _THUNK, THUNK, THUNK._

Bakugo's footsteps. Along with his breathing, the rustle of his clothes. He was moving fast, making circles around him.

 _ **'This one mind sound weird, but every being has it's own scent, their very own particular smell. In your friend's case, well... his should be quite obvious. You know what to do.'**_

The greenete gave himself some room to chuckle. He then inhaled deeply, catching as many different smells as he could. The steel of the walls, his own smell... and, at last, _nitroglycerin. 'Gotcha!'_

 _ **'Finally, you have to use your sense of touch. Most people just limit that to their hands, but your entire body is sensitive. Feel the vibrations your buddy makes every time he moves, the ripples, the changes in the air itself.'**_

Izuku crouched, and touched the floor, feeling every _THUNK_ Bakugo made with his heavy steps. It was incredibly easy, mixing everything, to pinpoint Bakugo's position. _**'You're almost done. Now get up...'**_ Izuku did that.

 _ **'...open your mind, and see.'**_

Such trivial, cryptic words. And, in context, _they made so much sense_. It's like if Izuku have had his eyes swollen shut his whole life, now suddenly knowing what to do.A visualization popped inside his head, working (in his opinion) like if he had a camera plugged onto his mind allowing him to see everywhere at the same time. What caught his attention was a coral colored human shape, moving somewhere _behind him. 'Whoa, so weird! It's that-'_

' _ **Yep, that's Bakugo's aura; congratulations kid, now you're officially an Observation Haki user! Don't slack off, and train constantly to keep it sharp.**_ _ **Observation let's you see the energy every living thing has, and, for sharp minds like yours, predict your opponent's moves shouldn't be difficult. Even if they're outside your range of sight.'**_

In cue, Bakugo moved. In the control room, the class was _really_ weirded out by Izuku's behavior, especially when he stood still in the middle of a hallway, obviously blinded. And most of them gasped when Bakugo jumped at Izuku from behind, ready to knock him out with a hand blast.

Izuku effortlessly dodged the attack by _tilting his head to the side._ Bakugo was forced to roll to avoid hurting himself with the fall, and when he came to a stop, his face screamed _what the Fuck. Capital F._ Pretty much mirroring everyone else's expression.

For Izuku, on the other hand, everything was getting weird really fast. He had saw what Bakugo wanted to do, _before_ he did it, and acted based on that, which was, according to the voice, was the most basic ability Observation Users had. _**'Kid, don't you stand there! He's distracted! Knock him out!!'**_

Bakugo was in shock. It wasn't possible for Izuku to be able to dodge that attack! He blinded him! _And_ , just to make sure, he attacked from behind! Unless... _'Son of a- Wait!!'_ He turned around, having sensed a sudden pick in Izuku's aura, meaning that he was about to attack. What he saw was _fist. Glowing fist._ But Izuku's aura... had changed. It wasn't his usual Mint colour; instead... _'This is-!'_

 _ **"SMAAAAAASH!!"**_

 _BAM_!

The One for All-enhanced punch hit him dead on, sending him flying straight to the wall at the end of the hallway, ramming against it with a resounding _CLANG_. He didn't got up.

"Oh, crap! KACCHAN!! Damn, I think I went overboard!" Izuku screamed. He didn't expected to have that much power behind the punch! He ran over to Bakugo and checked on him (inasmuch as he could by freaking out over his friend's body). "Oh god, oh god, oh gooood..."

' _ **Kid, relax. He's breathing.'**_ Izuku visibly relaxed at that, and confirmed that yes, Bakugo was breathing. Though it didn't sound so good... _**'You still worried? Just check on his aura. Is it still solid?'**_ Izuku nodded. **_'Then he's fine, he's just unconscious. If his aura diminishes, or starts to fade,_ then _you have something to worry about. Look, I gotta go, I'm done here for now. I'll give you some final advice before I go. First, remember to tie him down, and hurry, because the clock's still ticking.'_**

 _'Oh, that's right! The exercise! I was so engrossed with this Haki thing that I completely forgot about it!'_

 _ **'Lovely.'**_ The voice dryly replied. _**'And second: for all that's sacred, open your eyes, you have been able to see for a minute now!'**_

"O-Oh! Really?" Izuku opened his eyes and, yes, he had recovered his sight back, though he had to blink several times to adjust to the sudden brightness. "Aaaaaand I'm blind again. Too much light!" After recovering from his second stage of blindness, Izuku finally secured Bakugo with the tape. Once he was done, he looked at Bakugo, and saw that he was glowing. Not in the strict sense, actually his body was pulsating with a coral-toned light. "This... is so strange... is this how Kacchan sees everyone?"

 _ **'Probably. The color of the aura changes depending on the person. Check yours for example.'**_ Looking at his hands, he saw them emitting a mint-green glow. And in response to his surprise, his aura stirred, like when you throw a stone at a lake. _**'And that's other thing, one that you've discussed before; your aura reacts depending on your emotions. When you manage to gain a better grasp at the readings, you'll be able to have entire conversations with another Observation user entirely without uttering a single word. Not that you haven't done that in the past, but they'll be more fluid from now on. That's all I have to say. I'll go now.'**_

 _'Wait!'_

 _ **'What?'**_

 _'Just... thanks. I wanted to say thanks.'_

 _ **'... shut up, kid.'**_ Despite the harsh tone, the image of a smile flashed through Izuku's mind. _**'Now, finish this. See you later.'**_

And then... it was gone.

Izuku breathed, and touched his intercom. "Uraraka-san? Are you there?"

Her voice came as a whisper. _"I'm here, Deku-kun! I found Iida, we're at-PFFFFFF!!"_ She cut herself with what sounded like muffled laughter.

"Uraraka-san? What the...?"

 _"Dang! Sorry Deku-kun, Iida's 'Villainous Persona' was so serious that I found it funny, and he noticed I'm here!"_

"Perfect! Think you can keep him distracted? I've suppressed Kacchan here, so he's out! We can move to part 2 of the plan!"

 _"That... is gonna be easier that you think. He began to_ monologize."

"...keep him going." Izuku flatly replied. "I'll be there in a few moments. You're in the fifth floor, right? Make sure he's away from the windows."

 _"Wha- how do you know that!?"_

Izuku looked up, and throughout the many floors that separated them, he saw. Two auras. One hot pink, and overflowing with energy. The other, a serious but still vibrant cyan. He smiled softly. "Trust me on this one, Uraraka."

 _"...ok. I trust you."_

Ending the call, Izuku took one last look at Bakugo, and headed toward the nearest window. He opened it, and flew upwards, stopping outside of one of the fifth floor windows. Looking trough it, he saw Iida facing the opposite direction he was located, and Ochako making feints as to where she wanted to go, looking like a goalie in a soccer game. She accidentally looked at the window Izuku was, and did a none-too-subtle double take, forcing Izuku to hide from Iida that had turned to see what took Uraraka's attention.

The greenete, exasperated, facepalmed. _'Way. Too. Close. Personal reminder: train Uraraka-san in the usefulness of subtlety.'_ Daring to take a peek, he slowly raised his head, and Uraraka, now taking more subtle glances, caught a glimpse of her partner signaling her to keep doing what she was to keep Iida away from the bomb.

Izuku barely opened the window, just enough space to slide the blade of a knife, and made use of what he considered to be one of his most difficult, yet useful tricks. He carefully turned into fire, and passed trough the breach, forming back once he was in. Using the same trick, he crawled around the bomb like a snake, taking physical form on top of it, cross-legged. He chuckled lightly at Uraraka's dumbfounded face.

 _ **"HERO TEAM..."**_ All Might's voice resound trough the megaphones. Midoriya raised his hand in a v-sign, grinning like a maniac when Iida finally took notice of what was happening. _**"WINS!!"**_

"What? _NO! THE BOMB! I got distracted!!_ " Iida dropped to his knees in despair, a cloud hovering over him.

When Izuku got down from his place, he looked at Uraraka trying to cheer up the poor guy. Everything over, he let himself truly appreciate the sight of his friends' auras, looking like they were glowing on their own. Now that he had calmed down, his mind drifted back at something that, in the spur of the moment, slipped from his attention.

 _ **["SMAAAAAASH!!"]**_

' _I used One for All, but my arm didn't bust. Why? Plus, it didn't fuse with Flame Being; and I'm more than sure that the power gauge was severely toned down, otherwise Kacchan would have ended like the Zero Pointer. Apart from that-'_

"Midoriya?"/"Deku-kun?"

Returning to reality, the Fire Boy directed his attention to his two classmates, seeing written in their faces (and irradiating in their presences) worry and _fear?_ "Guys? W-what is it? Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Well, Deku-kun... your... your _eyes_..."

Izuku touched his face. "What about them?"

"They're... well, they're _red_."

"Uh? _WHAT!?"_ Running to the window, he checked his reflection and yes, his normally green irises were now a shinny red. "WHY? WHY, WHY, W-W-W-WHY ARE MY EYES RED!?"

"Midoriya! Calm down!"

Izuku didn't listened, still ranting inside his mind. _'Why? I've always had green eyes, why are they red? What happe-HAKI!! It's probably because of Observation Haki! I never used until recently, and with Kacchan it would go unnoticed! Remember Izuku, remember. How had Kacchan described this power?'_ He put his hand on his chin, deep in thought. _'He always compared it to those passive/active abilities in those RPG games he likes so much. Having passive boosts that are always on, while still having active properties, like focus! That's it! I need to turn off the focusing switch!'_

He squinted his eyes, trying to reach that mental switch, and when he opened his eyes, he saw a pair of green irises looking back at him from the reflection. He relaxed. " _Phew_. This is way more complicated that Kacchan makes it look like." He turned around, and hand waved the issue at the other two Heroes-in-training. "It's okay, guys. I'm back to normal. It's something that I'm trying to the get the hang of, and I assume the red eyes are a harmless secondary effect. Iida, can you do ne a favor?"

"Sure, Midoriya. What do you need?"

Izuku reached for something in the back of his belt, what turned out to be a little notebook. "Here. I usually would take notes on everyone else's Quirks during their turns, but I need to go and check on Kacchan in the nursery. I think I overdid it a _little bit_ down there, hehe." He explained sheepishly. "You seem like the kind of guy that it's very demoted to his studies, and I would like you to take those notes for me, if it isn't too much trouble."

Iida seemed rather taken aback, but he complied nonetheless. "O-Of course! It would actually help me improve my own analytical skills, so it would work as a mental exercise! Well though, Midoriya!"

 _'That's not what I meant...'/ 'Taking things a little bit too far, don'tcha think?'_

"Uraraka-san," Izuku called his friend, that seemed kinda down, despite her general upbeat attitude, "I'm sorry."

"Uh? What for?"

"I know that you feel like you did little today," he said, surprising Ochako that believed she had managed to hide that particular issue under her smile, "and it's probably my fault. I didn't exploited your potential, using you as a mere distraction. I'll try to compensate for it, alright? You would just have to let me think of something..."

"Nonononono, Deku-kun! There's no need!"

"Too late, my mind's already set. What can I do..." his voice slowly got lower as he went muttering to the exit.

"He's certainly something, right, Uraraka?" Iida chuckled.

The poor girl couldn't wrap her mind around the situation. "I honestly don't know what to think about him. He's a great guy, but he tends to jump between politeness, weirdness and awesomeness way too fast for me to keep up." She smiled. "With someone like him around, it'll be too hard to get bored!"

 **xOx**

Once everyone reunited back in the control room, All Might asked if someone had anything to say about the battle they just witnessed. Cue Yaoyorozu, and an _overly long and detailed_ monologue about everything _wrong_ with what had happened. The only praises were for Iida, who had used his mind and took advantage of his environment, cleaning the floor he was to gain the upper hand against Ochako.

Iida, surprisingly, retorted her argument saying that everything had been part of Katsuki's plan, from clearing the place, to the split team, arguing that in a situation like the presented, a villain would have not only home field advantage, but also knowledge of the _more publicly known_ Heroes and their Quirks and fighting styles, with the chance of planning around it. The plan was to separate the teammates, that in the heroes case was a match of Offense and Support, with the big hitters stalling mutually, while the support member, in this case Uraraka, would have to face the much more combat prepared Iida. Everything would have worked out, but Bakugo didn't add to the equation the fact that Midoriya would find a way to overcome his blindness, that was Bakugo's trump card.

Stunned silence.

 _'They said more than I expected to..'_ All Might thought. "Well, young Iida could have been a little less tense around the shoulders, too..."

In the infirmary, Izuku was sitting next to an unconscious Katsuki, toying with his newfound Observation. It was such a cool ability, he would reach as far as he could, trying to sense as many different auras as his range let him.

"Ugh, someone better fucking tell me you got that truck's license plate..."

"Kacchan, you're awake."

The blonde tried to raise his head, only for it to ring like bell, so he plopped back. "Yeah, I won't do that. It hurts like shit..."

"Sorry about it. I got really carried on back there, I didn't want to hurt you that badly, you know."

"That was one hell of a punch, I'll give you that, Deku. It broke again, didn't it?" He pointed at his nose, and Izuku chuckled.

"Yep, my punch broke it right after you fixed it. Two times in less than ten minutes, I think it's a new record."

"Yeah, but it's still only two times! Remember that my personal record it's _thirteen times_ in a single day!" He retorted, oddly proud of that. "I have to give my old hag credit for what's due for, she can be persistent when she's angry."

"You didn't even try to dodge her attacks, didn't you?" Izuku teased.

"Of course I did!" Bakugo answered, though a bit hesitant. And he added with a murmur, "She needs to vent with someone, or else the rest of the world would be _fucked_..."

Izuku burst out laughing. Katsuki, despite how much he tries to hide it, it's a _softie_.

"Hey, Deku."

"Hm?"

"We've skipped lunch two days in a row now."

"Yeah, I know. It's weird for me to skip a meal, and I'm feeling it."

"Tomorrow."

"What? Tomorrow what?"

Bakugo just let loose the most evil _shit eating grin_ he had. Deku only answered "Oh", and returned the gesture.

A couple of minutes of silence went by after that, until Bakugo spoke. "You have it now, too." It was a statement, not a question, one that Izuku didn't quite get.

"Have what?"

Katsuki didn't answer, he just raised one brow in disbelief, and let his aura flare, as if saying _"See now what I mean?"_

Izuku's eyes widened. "Oh! That power! Yeah, it's so cool! I can finally see the things you see! Like the lights of the people that I know are their auras, and I can predict the moves of people attacking me, and look! When I use it, my eyes change!" He closed his eyes, and when he opened them, Bakugo saw that they were red.

"Whoa, so freaky..."

"I know, it's weird right? I assume it's a giveaway for when it's acting on a focused way, and seeing how you were born with red eyes, we never noticed." He took a pause to regain his breath, and to reach for some snacks for the both of them, before asking something. "Kacchan, clear me something." He pointed to what appeared to be a random location away. "It's that..."

"Yeah, it is. That massive golden aura is _All Might's_."

"It's so big... It's almost as big as the entire U.A!"

"He's the Top Hero, Deku. What else can you expect? Better get used to it, I'll try to help you train your sensing power, it can come off really handy."

Izuku looked away, and smiled. "Haki."

"What?"

"It's called Observation Haki."

 **xOx**

Sleep didn't reach Bakugo that night. His mind was a mess, too many things happened in a single day. He sat on his bed, and massaged his face, before looking at the hour. _2:17 a.m._

He reached for his laptop, and made a mental review of the most important things that had occurred. Once it turned on, Bakugo reached for one of his folders, the one labeled _"OppaiHeaven."_

His mother would never dare to open said folder, and it was totally normal for a boy his age to be interested in those kind of things, so he knew it was safe. He opened the folder, and several files popped up.

They were detailed descriptions of the entire class 1-A, as well as some of the Pros.

Just like Izuku had his notebook, he also had a way of keeping track on everyone. Though he preferred to keep his a secret. He had measured everyone's levels, their Quirks, as well as his own personal research, that last one would definitely get him on the bad side of some, given some of the info he had of them.

Others, like that Todoroki kid, had obvious connections but a clean record. He knew he shouldn't pry any further on that particular subject, or getting expelled would be the _last_ of his worries.

He went straight at Izuku's file, and opened it. He had to update some of his info.

 _Name: Izuku Midoriya_

 _Age: 15_

 _Hero Name: To be chosen_

 _Quirk: Flame Being_

There was a paragraph on his opinion on him, and some regular stats; speed strength, etc. He added something.

 _Others: Observation Haki_

 _'Now this is something that bothers me. How did he knew the_ actual _name? He said he just thought it would sound cool, but he sounded like he knew that it was how it was really called.'_ Bakugo frowned. _'What are you hiding from me, Deku?'_ He looked at the last stat he had to modify: Power Status. His current level was _S_ , according to the both of them. He clicked on it, and added just one symbol.

 _Power Status: S Class...?_

He closed that file, and moved to the next one he needed to update.

 _Name: Unknown_

 _Age: Unknown_

 _Hero Name: All Might_

 _Quirk: Unknown_

Most of the info on All Might was the same, something that always bothered Bakugo. Despite being _the most popular_ Hero, absolutely nothing was known about the man. Before continuing, the teen took a deep breath. He only had to make two changes, but one was more speculation than anything. The other... he didn't want to acknowledge the possibility. He started to type.

 _Personal Assumptions: He and Deku are related in some way._

It was a crazy thing to assume, but...

 **[SMAAAAAASH!!!]**

In the moment Izuku punched him, his aura had changed colors, from his usual Mint, to Mint and _Golden_. All Might somehow was related to Izuku's sudden buff in power. For now, it would be only speculation. If it were to be true, Izuku would have to talk with him. And the last thing to modify, was, just like Izuku, his Power Status.

 _Power Status: ???_

He never actually had a reading on All Might's aura, so he couldn't know how strong he was. Now that he did, the possibility scared him. He postponed for as long as he could, until he realized that yes, his readings were correct, and it was a good thing All Might was a Hero. He didn't want to think about the slight possibility of a Villain with such power.

It would be devastating.

He typed the words that he didn't want to consider a reality.

 _Name: Unknown_

 _Age: Unknown_

 _Hero Name: All Might_

 _Quirk: Unknown_

 _ **Power Status: SSS Class.**_

~CDS~

 _ **Aaaaaand done! My longest chapter so far, and it didn't took four months to come out! Woohoo!**_

 _ **I hope you like what I did here, I've had it in my head since the conception of this story. Expect more chapters like this one in the future.**_

 _ **For the next one, things are going to be different. I have something in mind regarding the Class President episode, but it'll be a comparatively short chapter due to not having too much material to work with. I'll probably go with the Comic Relief route.**_

 _ **Please don't be too hard with me in the comments, I try to do my best.**_

 _ **Read ya**_.


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